Break Him
by PrinceyAtNight28
Summary: A mission gone horribly, horribly wrong: Forced to leave a member behind in the hands of a dark guild, Lucy and Happy frantically rush to Fairy Tail for backup. A plan of action is formed, but it's slowly falling apart. Hopefully, Natsu can hold on. "The human body can bear immeasurable pain and yet recover. Wounds can heal. But once your spirit is broken, everything falls apart."
1. Prologue

**_Break Him_**

 _Prologue_

Princey28

* * *

"Natsu, I'm going to _kill you!"_

"Ha-ha-ha!"

"Guys, please, we're going to get our pay cut."

"Natsu, you idiot!"

Natsu continued to laugh with all his might as an icing-covered Lucy charged after him with a piping bag. The dragon slayer was laughing so hard that tears were threatening to form in his eyes. Though it _had_ been an accident…

…it still didn't make it any less hilarious.

"Pfft—ha-ha!" Natsu sputtered as he glanced at the girl chasing him around a flour-covered counter.

A request had been made for help at one of the local bakeries, and Erza, the resident cake fanatic, had insisted they go; which, of course, meant that she had dragged all four members of her team to the door of the quaint little shop as soon as the sun had come up. Happy and Carla had been forced to skip the mission, as animals of any sort weren't allowed in the shop—somehow, though, Natsu had made it inside.

Needless to say, it was beginning to seem like a mistake.

"Natsu, stop; you're making a mess!" Wendy cried, the young blue-haired mage snatching the bowl of cake batter she'd been working on up from the counter. It was just in time, too; Natsu jumped on the surface and sprung across the kitchen. Lucy growled and followed him, her cheeks burning red in anger.

"Lucy, I—" Natsu tried to speak, but burst into laughter as soon as he looked at Lucy again—so much for an apology. A spatula was hurled at the fire mage, missing its target and flying into a stack of dirty kitchen utensils that had been piled into the sink. The bowls, pans, spoons and various other instruments clattered noisily on the hardwood floor.

"I _just_ got my hair done, Natsu!" Lucy screeched, ignoring the mess she'd created and lunging at the boy, missing as he spun out of the way, his scarf slapping her face as if it were taunting her. " _Now it's covered in blue icing!"_

"I didn't mean to—"Natsu cackled, and sucked in a deep breath before trying to talk again. "I'm sor— _Lucy it's turning your hair green!_ "

The fire mage pointed and howled in laughter as Lucy stopped in her tracks and lifted a lock of hair into her vision, letting out a squeak of disbelief. " _Natsu!_ "

The chase started again, Natsu flipping over sinks and counters and dodging Lucy's onslaught of kitchen utensils. Gray, apparently, had decided to try to ignore the attempt at murder taking place around him, narrowing his murky blue eyes and just continuing to cool various ingredients with his ice-make magic for the owner, who was out trying to find a new refrigerator. Wendy was frantically trying to calm Lucy down while she attempted to clean up the flour, sugar, eggs and various other ingredients that had been thrown to the floor from Natsu and Lucy's war. And Erza…

…Erza had just walked through the door.

" _What is going on here?_ "

Everyone froze in what they were doing—including Lucy, who was in the middle of pinning Natsu to the ground, ready to pipe icing into his "stupid pink hair" after he had commented that she smelled like a cupcake. The scarlet-haired mage's eyes went dark and narrowed, as she put down the items she'd been given the task of buying from the market for the owner of the bakery. Her Heart Kreuz Armor glinted dangerously in the sunlight pouring through the window of the bakery.

"Uh—uhm—"Lucy stuttered, her eyes growing wide while she quickly got to her feet, hopelessly hiding the piping bag behind her back. Natsu stood up too, though his face was still split with an ill-hidden grin.

"Lucy got icing in her hair," Natsu snickered, putting a hand over his eyes as if it were too much, "—and now it's _green_!" He then proceeded to chuckle as he gave Lucy another look, unable to stop himself as her face morphed into something that reminded him of Mirajane's demon souls.

"What?! You mean _you_ _squirted_ icing into my hair!" Lucy said with a growl, shaking the piping back as she would her fist. "This will take _days_ to get out!"

However, the two were interrupted as Erza suddenly loomed over them with her eyes narrowed and her expression deadly. Natsu's grin, along with Lucy's snarl, was replaced by a look of terror.

"We'll clean this right up!" They squeaked.

* * *

By the time the bakery had been cleaned spotless by Lucy and Natsu, it was well after sunset when Erza finally allowed them to leave. Natsu offered to walk Lucy home, in which the blonde-now-milky-green had replied by sending a look that would kill, if they could. The fire mage had simply chuckled and backed away with his hands up. They parted ways, with Natsu walking towards his home with his hands behind his head and Lucy stomping towards hers.

When Natsu had called out a 'goodnight' to her, she hadn't bothered to answer.

* * *

"Wow, Lucy, trying out a new style?"

"That's, uh, an interesting color…"

"Mama, why's there snot in that girl's hair?"

Lucy got plenty an earful of chatter about her hair on the way to the Fairy Tail guild the next morning. The air was crisp and cool, but did nothing to stifle the burning in her cheeks. With each comment and question, her frustration grew until her face was set in a scowl when she walked through the grand wooden doors of the guild hall. She could _feel_ the eyes on her as she trudged to the request board that was to the immediate right of the entrance of the hall. The sounds of glasses clinking, feet stepping, and voices speaking filled the room—the atmosphere was comfortable and warm.

That is, until everyone could feel Lucy's almost tangible rage.

Lucy's chocolate eyes raked through the familiar faces of the guild, among them being Wendy, Carla, Happy and… _him_.

 _He_ was currently shoveling in handfuls of his breakfast, apparently forgetting that he had silverware available to use, and darting out his tongue in between bites to take care of the occasional dribble of gravy traveling down his chin.

Lucy caught the eye of the group as she came to the request board, waving at them and making a point to make eye contact with everyone except… _him_. She turned up her nose as he tried to get her attention, not at all phased by the attempted wave the fire-mage sent her.

Nab stood at the board as he usually did, staring at the requests as if they were some elaborate puzzle. She greeted him, and he returned the gesture with a smile before turning back to his calculating, crossing his arms over his large belly and causing the red cloak over his shoulders to shift and the skull necklace he wore to rattle.

As Lucy searched for a job, she couldn't help but watch… _him_ in her peripheral vision as he eyed her while he ate. Even after she selected a solo job request—book sorting, but its pay was somewhat decent—she refused to even glance at the pink-headed fire mage. She walked past her group of friends in search of Mirajane to take the request, smiling at three of the four members of her team.

When Natsu asked her what job she'd chosen, and if he could go, Lucy didn't even acknowledge him.

* * *

 _'That…jerk!'_ Lucy thought as she shoved a book a bit forcefully into its place on the shelf she was organizing. _'Cancer couldn't even get this stuff out! I can't believe it. And he thought he could just talk to me like nothing happened? Fat chance!'_

She briefly wondered if she was, perhaps, overreacting a little; Natsu _had_ apologized—well, he had attempted to before bursting into laughter—and it _had_ been an accident, but…

As she bent over to pick up another stack of books, a green lock of hair fell into her face. She glared at it.

Nope. He _totally_ deserved this.

Lucy couldn't help but mumble under her breath as she continued to file books away, glancing at the clock and realizing she would be here for at least three more hours, which added heat to her sour mood. The milky-green-haired girl only continued to brew on her grudge, her annoyance at Natsu building and building until she had to take a deep breath to stop herself from throwing a book across the room.

It's not that she was annoyed at _just_ the icing incident—though, she was a _tad_ past frustrated at it. Natsu had been really grating on her nerves lately for some reason. The fire mage usually got on everyone's nerves every once in a while, but he'd been especially energetic now that things had calmed down after the eclipsed celestial spirit catastrophe. Lucy figured he was just trying to get rid of his pent-up energy.

Speaking of her spirits, she realized, she wondered if calling one of them would help the time pass as well as cut her work in half. Feeling dumb from forgetting her spirits, she pulled out one of her keys, rubbing the golden item with her thumb over the different curves and grooves.

Lucy held the key out and called upon her friend.

"Open, gate of the sea goat—Capricorn!"

The key lit up in golden light, followed by a flash of the same color enveloping the room. When the light faded, a goat-like creature in a suit and sunglasses was left in its wake.

"Hello, Lucy," The goat greeted, a white ear twitching and his thin tail swishing.

"Hi, Capricorn," Lucy smiled up at her tall friend, not at all perturbed by the horns and hooved feet that adorned the goat-man.

The goat's polite smile faltered and he adjusted his glasses. "Excuse me, Lucy, but I believe my glasses are wearing out—your hair appears to be green in this light."

Lucy felt heat creep into her cheeks as her smile dropped, replaced by a scowl as she was reminded of her hair-style. "Sadly, no—it's green. I had an icing incident," She explained, and waved a hand as if to shoo away the thought, "Anyways, I need some help here. I figured you knew a lot about books so I thought maybe you could help me sort these."

"Oh. I see," Capricorn said, though Lucy could tell his eyes were inspecting her hair behind his sunglasses, "Yes, I can help. Just show me what to do."

"Great! Okay, so the non-fiction goes over here, but the owner was _very_ specific about it being in alphabetical order, so I've managed to get most of them arranged…"

* * *

An hour later found the last book sliding into place, and Lucy couldn't help but sigh in relief and stretch her stiff muscles.

"It appears we have finished," Capricorn commented, crossing his arms and admiring his handiwork. His hooved feet thumped sharply and gracefully on the floor as he came to Lucy's side.

"Yeah, finally," Lucy said, "Well, thanks for the help, you can go, now—"

"Actually, Lucy," Capricorn interrupted her as she went to pull out his gate key. The mage paused and gave him a curious look. "I get the sense that you are troubled by something. While I realize it's none of my business, it is my duty to make sure you are safe. Is it anything I can help you with?"

Lucy blinked at the goat, and looked down to her feet. Was she really so mad that her spirit had been able to call her out on it? But she'd hidden it so well!

Well… except for mumbling under her breath a few times... and cursing when a pile of books toppled over…and not to mention her growl of rage when she had put away a fiction story about a dragon.

Okay, so maybe she hadn't hidden it all _that_ well.

But she was just so… _mad_ at Natsu! And why? It had been an accident, and he had apologized, but…

Her _hair_ …

"It's…nothing, Capricorn," Lucy said, gripping the side of her arm uncertainly.

"Lucy," The goat pressed, his eyebrows drawing forward.

"Well, it's just… Natsu's driving me _insane_!" She blurted, "He got icing in my hair and made it worse by _laughing_ about it—and then we had to clean the _entire_ bakery and on the way home I tripped into a mud puddle and this morning everyone was—they were— _Ooh!_ "

Lucy clenched her fists in frustration.

"And that's not all!" She continued, throwing her hands up and beginning to count on her fingers. "Last week he broke into my room while I was in the middle of changing, and the week before that he sneezed and set my table on fire! How does that even _happen_?!"

Capricorn looked about ready to say something, but Lucy wasn't finished.

" _And—_ And—this is the real kicker—he has the _nerve_ to act like nothing even happened, and expect me to be fine with it! It's just so…!" Lucy paused, clenching and unclenching her fists while she searched for words. "He's just been getting on my nerves lately—he's literally going to make me lose my mind one of these days!"

Capricorn stared at her with his brows raised, waiting a moment to assure she was done before he spoke.

"Well," He started, "That's… not what I had been expecting. Though, perhaps you could try talking to him?"

"That doesn't work with Natsu; he's too dense. He'll probably think I'm _asking_ him to bug me."

"Has he apologized?"

"Well…" Lucy faltered, "Yeah…"

"Was it sincere?"

"I guess…" ' _As sincere as Natsu could get_ ,' she added to herself bitterly.

Come to think of it, Natsu _had_ apologized for ruining her hair and her table, even if it was in the midst of a laugh or a snort.

That was just Natsu.

He wasn't one for the 'mushy stuff' or anything sentimental. Lucy understood that, but… _jeez_. You'd think he'd at least learn to cover his mouth when he sneezed.

Lucy sighed, and she felt her anger melt a little at the guilt that settled into her heart. Maybe she was being unfair to Natsu. He didn't deserve to be ignored, at the very least.

"Well, I guess I'll try talking to him," Lucy decided out loud, and glanced up at Capricorn. "Thanks," she smiled.

"Happy to help," The goat replied with a nod, and in a golden flash, he was gone.

Lucy gathered her things and prepared to talk to the owner of the room full of books for her reward, and she couldn't help but feel guilt settle in her system. She sighed. She'd have to apologize to Natsu. It wasn't too late in the day; she figured that maybe he'd still be at the guild. And if not, she'd just make it up to him by signing them both up for a job she knew he'd like.

Lucy smiled as she went into the hallway of the book-owner's home. She'd make it up to him.

* * *

 **(A/N):** Hellooooo! *giant wave* Thank you for clicking/tapping and giving my story a chance! Before we continue, however-the rating of this story _may_ change later on as I delve into the chapters further on-this story is going to take a dark turn soon enough. Don't worry, I'll spare grotesque details (I can't say on what, though-spoilers XD), but, if you are someone who likes to be attentive to the rating of stories, I do suggest glancing at the rating from time to time as we go deeper into this fiction.

I wrote this story because I love bringing out the dark side of characters-and the fact that there just simply aren't enough fics like this with Natsu being caught, and all.

Also, the next part of the story is already written and is undergoing finishing touches-the wait shouldn't be too long ;)

Thanks for reading! I hope to see you next time! :D

(Also, the quote in the description is by Palden Gyasto)


	2. Chapter 1

**_Break Him_**

 _Chapter 1_

Princey

* * *

Dressed in a pink T-shirt and white jean-shorts, Lucy had a bit more pep in her step as she walked through the streets of Magnolia the next morning. True to her guess, Natsu hadn't been at the guild the evening before, and she had taken the liberty of choosing a job that paid a lot and required a lot of firepower. Perfect for Natsu.

Lucy's hair wasn't as green as the day before—which helped her mood—and it was faded enough that it almost looked like a trick of the light when she looked at it. But, no, the tinge of green was still very much in her ponytail-styled hair. She got much less comments on her hair—starting and ending at zero—and she had even bought a donut for Natsu as she passed the bakery she had worked in a couple days ago.

As she entered the familiar atmosphere of the Fairy Tail guild, she spotted Natsu, Happy, Wendy and Carla sitting together at the bar. She felt her heart twinge anxiously. Lucy wanted to apologize—truly, she did—but some part of her was expecting to be laughed in the face or even turned down completely. She knew Natsu would never do that, but some part of her—the overthinking part—ran down an entire list of possibilities and outcomes.

Before she knew it, Lucy had cleared the steps into the main pit of the guild, as well as the wooden restaurant tables, and greeted her friends as she approached the bar.

"Hey, Lucy," Natsu beamed at her, obviously glad she was acknowledging him again. He set his drink down—something that was flaming—and leaned an elbow on the bar as his friend approached him.

"Hey, uh," Lucy started, and set down the brown paper bag with Natsu's pastry in front of the fire mage, "I got you some breakfast."

Natsu blinked and wasted no time peering curiously into the bag, his face lighting up again as he got the donut out of the bag and proceeded to bite a large chunk out of the thing.

"Thanks, Lushee," He said around a mouthful of donut.

"Listen, Natsu, I…" Lucy started, her brown eyes suddenly taking interest in the floorboards and her hand gripping the black belt that held her celestial spirit keys. "I'm sorry about yesterday—for ignoring you. You didn't deserve that. I was just embarrassed."

"Huh?" Natsu stopped mid-bite of his pastry. "Yesterday? I didn't know you were ignoring me."

Well, that figures.

Lucy had to stop herself from giving the fire mage a deadpan while Wendy and Carla had to hide their giggles. Natsu finished off his donut, chewing thoughtfully before licking his fingers clean. Happy, who was currently gnawing on a fish, swished his tail and gave Lucy a grin.

"Your hair's still green," the Exceed snickered, and Lucy shot him a glare.

" _Shut it_ ," Lucy hissed at Happy before turning back to Natsu, "Anyways, I heard you asking if you could go on the job with me yesterday, and I felt bad so I got one we could both go on." Lucy reached into the purse slung over her shoulder and pulled out a folded piece of paper, unfolding it and handing it to Natsu. "It's a few cities over, and it'll take a few days to complete, but it pays well, and I figured it could be fun."

Natsu skimmed over the paper, a smile on his face as his eyes went back to Lucy. He jumped off of his seat, snatching Lucy's arm and tugging her towards the door of the guild.

"Wha-what're you doing?!" Lucy asked stumbling after him, but let herself be pulled, nonetheless.

"Going on the mission—duh!" Natsu glanced back at her and grinned before he called across the guild as he led Lucy out of the entrance. "C'mon, Happy!"

"Aye, sir!"

Lucy couldn't help but laugh. Natsu had forgiven her.

* * *

After Lucy and Natsu had parted for a while to pack things for their trip, they met back up at the train station just before noon, deciding to eat before they got on the train, and double checking their luggage—Natsu's green backpack and Lucy's pink one—to make sure they had everything before getting on board.

"Augh…"

Of course, that didn't mean the ride would go any smoother. For Natsu, at least.

"Why does my tummy hate me…?" Natsu whined miserably, taking it upon himself to lie across the vinyl seat of the booth he and Lucy were sharing in the middle of the train's carriage. She sat across from him with Happy next to her, giving the pyromaniac a sympathetic smile. With each bump and jolt the train gave, Natsu appeared to grow greener and greener, and twice he had already had to stop himself from losing his lunch. And it was only twenty minutes into the four-hour long ride.

"Maybe we could knock him out like Erza did that one time," Happy suggested, looking up at Lucy while swinging his stubby legs off the edge of the red vinyl seats.

Lucy gave the blue cat a suspicious look, about to comment on how weird that had been before Natsu suddenly vaulted from his seat and ran down the aisle of the train, some people exclaiming in annoyance and surprise as he tripped on a foot poking out into the aisle.

"Wha—Natsu!" She called after him, standing from her seat and watching as he opened the door to the cart they were using and, without bothering to close it, leaned over the side railing while his body shuddered painfully. Sighing in relief that they weren't in immediate danger, Lucy told Happy to stay in his seat while she went to check on Natsu.

As she went by the many other people seated on the train, she caught pieces of their conversation, along with some who had noticed Natsu's scene.

"Didn't mean to trip him…"

"…scared the heck outta me…"

"Poor lad…"

"Musta' been somethin' he ate."

When Lucy had made it to the end of the carriage, she stepped out of the door and closed it behind her with a 'click' before she inspected Natsu carefully while the wind whipped her hair around. She gripped the railing of the platform connecting their cart to the one behind it, and placed her other hand on Natsu's back.

Upon further inspection, Natsu had a trail of something stringing from his chin, but it was quickly wiped away when the fire mage noticed Lucy's presence.

"Hey, are you okay?" Lucy asked, and Natsu's olive eyes turned to her almost painfully. He was still hunched over the railing, gripping it hard enough to almost dent the metal as he shuddered.

"…Sick," he managed before covering his mouth again and turning his head back over the side of the railing. "Shouldn'a ate before— _urgh_ —gettin' on this thing…"

"Well, is there anything I can do to help…?" Lucy asked awkwardly. She didn't like seeing the dragon slayer so ill. Although sometimes the scene could be comical, rare occasions—like this one—just made Lucy pity Natsu.

The fire mage mumbled something around his hand.

"What was that?"

"Knock…me out…"

She felt her pity jump off of the train's platform.

" _I'm not doing that_!" Lucy snapped incredulously. Natsu proceeded to groan and rest his rosy-pink haired head against the metal railing in what Lucy could only imagine was another toss of his stomach. "I don't think I'd be able to, anyways. I'm not near as strong as Erza."

"What I wouldn't give for Wendy's troia right now…" He whined.

Lucy watched helplessly as Natsu's scarf flapped in the wind, along with the black, one-sleeved over coat and cloth that ran to his knees, separated by a brown belt with a silver buckle. His knee-length trousers tied off in black ribbon whipped in the wind, as well.

Lucy sighed and crossed her arms, resting them on the railing and providing the comfort of just being close by.

Natsu lurched again and his stomach's contents shot up the mage's throat and over the railing before disappearing quickly from view as the train continued on its journey.

This was going to be a _long_ trip.

* * *

When the train had _finally_ arrived at Natsu, Lucy and Happy's destination, Natsu had to be supported by Lucy as he hobbled down the steps of the old-fashioned mode of transportation. The dragon-slayer could hardly stand after such an agonizing ride. Lucy had lost count of how many times he'd thrown up, but it was enough to see that it had really done a number on Natsu. His skin was pale and he was shaking with every step he took.

Sadly, it wasn't anything but normal. Natsu had an extremely weak stomach that often fell victim to motion sickness—which, somehow, only took place on anything with an engine. Lucy didn't understand it, but, apparently, all dragon slayers were affected by motion sickness. She found it a bit comical, sometimes—unless, of course, she was on the receiving end of the effects of it. Like now.

Lucy half-walked-half-dragged Natsu to the closest bench and set him there to rest while she left him with Happy to get a map of the city. She came back a few minutes later to find Natsu slumped over on the bench with his eyes closed as if he'd fallen over when she'd put him down. Happy poked at the pyromaniac, shrugging at Lucy when he didn't respond.

"That was one of the longest rides he's had on a train—I don't blame him," The cat explained, swishing his tail as he sat down by Natsu's head. "He looks like he ate a bad fish."

"There's a hotel a little ways from here—as soon as Natsu gets better, we'll go," Lucy said, looking over the map in her hands. "There's a restaurant right next to it that we can stop at, too."

"Ergh…Le's go, then," Natsu suddenly slurred, pushing himself into a sitting position.

"Of course food would get you up," Lucy scoffed, and helped the fire mage to his feet, where he swayed before regaining his balance. "You feel better?"

Natsu gave her a smile. "Tons." He was still a little shaky, and a little discolored, but seemed otherwise fine. "Let's get some grub." He stretched and gestured for Lucy to lead the way, linking his hands behind his head and gazing around the city they were in. In the afternoon sun, many people were in the streets running errands or simply strolling leisurely in the cool autumn weather. The city was filled with shops and buildings a few stories high. There were a few street performers as well as street vendors, one in particular almost conning Happy into buying a _super rare and extremely gorgeous fishing charm_ that Lucy had seen the salesman try to sell as a fire charm just moments before Happy had gone up to the vendor.

When the team arrived at the semi-fancy, busy restaurant, Lucy had to remind Natsu of their funds before he ordered one of everything on the menu, and, to his dismay, she told him to order only one thing on the menu like a _normal_ person.

"I'll have the smoked salmon—easy on the smoke," the blue Exceed told the waiter when he'd asked for their order. The man had looked confused, but had written it down, nonetheless. The cat smiled and went back to coloring on the children's coloring page the waiter had given him.

"Can I have the grilled chicken special?" Lucy requested, and the waiter nodded and wrote down that, as well.

"And you, sir?" The waiter prompted Natsu. When the pink-haired teenager didn't raise his eyes from the menu, the waiter cleared his throat and tried again. "Sir?"

Natsu suddenly looked up, having not heard him the time before. "Oh, yeah, uh… I'll have, the, uhm…" He said, scratching the back of his head while his eyes darted back down to the menu, "…steak…?"

"Of course, sir, and how would you like it?" The waiter asked politely as he wrote the order down.

"Uh." Natsu blinked up at the waiter.

"Rare," Happy said for his partner without looking up from his coloring page.

"Certainly," The waiter smiled, "Your meal will be out momentarily. Should you have need for anything, please, do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you," Lucy smiled at the waiter as he walked away. Once he was out of earshot, she turned back to the boys sitting across from her. "What was that all about?"

"Well, I've never had to order just one thing off of the menu—I usually like to try one of everything," Natsu shrugged, picking up a crayon and helping Happy color on his page.

"I just knew how he likes his steak from when he would eat it and say if it was bad or not. The redder the better for Natsu," Happy commented, his brow creasing as he colored in a little corner, being cautious as to not color outside the lines.

"I guess," Natsu smiled and shrugged again, not bothering with staying inside the lines with his crayon, and even adding flames out beside the cartoon character printed onto the page.

Lucy watched the two color to pass the time, but their wait wasn't long, and their meal was wonderful. As Lucy offered to pay the tip while they split the overall price of the dinner, Natsu took it upon himself to stuff as many complementary mints at the hostess station with the cash register into his green backpack that he could. The hostess sent him a glare, but didn't say anything as Natsu waved and followed Lucy out of the door.

They checked into the hotel, the price being reasonable enough per room that they purchased one for each gender. Their rooms were beside each other, and, after reminding Natsu that he needed to be ready by four to meet with their client, went into her hotel room. The room was small, as a room for one would be, with a bathroom that had a bathtub as well as a shower head.

Lucy opted to take a nice, relaxing, hot bath. She took advantage of the complementary soaps, soaking in the water until it was tepid and her fingers and toes started to wrinkle. Once she had dried off, she wrapped a towel around her and opened the door to the bathroom, humming.

However, her tune turned into a shriek as she beheld the sight of a certain _someone_ sitting on her bed.

" _Natsu!_ " She exclaimed, pulling the towel tighter around her body. " _Why are you in my room?_ " She demanded.

The fire mage was sitting on the side of her bed looking over the room service menu that had been sitting on the night table beside the bed.

"I got bored. And hungry. So I ordered some stuff," He smiled cheekily, holding up the card. "Hey, I don't see any more green in your hair."

Lucy glared over her flushed cheeks. "How did you even get in here? You don't have a key to my room and the windows don't open," She asked irritably, making her way to her backpack, and pulling out her clothes before returning to the bathroom.

"I went down and asked for another key," Natsu's muffled voice sounded through the bathroom door. "They just hand 'em out down there, ha-ha."

"Of course…" Lucy muttered as she changed. She couldn't be too surprised, though—the attendant at the desk probably thought that she and Natsu were somehow there together.

Lucy emerged from the bathroom dressed in a green blouse and the white jean-shorts from earlier. "Don't do that again, got it? And where's Happy?"

"He's asleep in our room," Natsu replied, lying back onto the bed with his hands behind his head and one foot propped on his knee. "Takin' a cat nap."

"So, that's why you're bored, huh?" Lucy asked, sitting on the opposite side of the bed as Natsu and tying her hair up on the side of her head with a green ribbon; her signature hairstyle.

"And hungry," Natsu added, pointing at her.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door followed by a charismatic ' _room service!_ ', and Natsu practically hurled himself at the wooden obstacle.

Once he'd gotten his platter of food and tipped the deliverer, he settled back onto Lucy's bed and dug into his second meal of the day. By the time he was finished, Lucy glanced at the clock and realized that it was time to meet with their client. After waking Happy, the team headed out of the hotel and into town again, traveling for about half an hour before they came to an apartment that matched the address printed on the paper of the request.

Lucy knocked on the door, waiting a few moments as she heard shuffling on the opposite wall before the door opened. Lucy was a little surprised to see a woman answer the door. Her brown hair was in a bun and she wore a blue apron that partially hid a white dress behind it. Her face was creased in uneasiness, and her brown eyes were red and puffy.

"Oh, hello," She spoke softly, as if afraid to. "Are you the wizards from Fairy Tail…?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lucy said. "I'm Lucy, and this is Natsu and Happy," She introduced, the two boys waving and smiling politely as their name was called.

"Oh," The woman said, and seemed to relax a little, moving away from the door and gesturing inside of her home. "Please, do come in. Thank you for travelling all this way. I'm Marceline."

"It's no problem—nice to meet you," Natsu smiled, looking around curiously at the woman's home. It was a small space—a simple living room split with a kitchen and three doors that Natsu assumed were used for a bathroom, bedroom, and, perhaps, a spare. The room had faded, pale linoleum flooring and cracked peach walls. There was a simple dining table, the kitchen essentials, and a coffee table centered between a single sofa and recliner.

The woman invited them to sit on the sofa while she brought out a tray of tea from her kitchen, handing each of them a cup before sitting down on the recliner.

"You're aware of the situation at hand, yes?" The woman asked after the Fairy Tail team received their beverages. Natsu started on his tea immediately after getting it, ignoring the ' _careful it's hot_ ' that came along with it. Lucy sipped at her own tea, wincing when she burned her tongue—she wasn't resistant to heat like Natsu was.

"Yes," Lucy answered, wiping at her mouth. "I'm so sorry to hear about your husband."

"I, uhm…" Marceline nodded, tears forming in her eyes before she quickly wiped them away. "Yes…" She managed.

"So, what can you tell us about the group that did this? You mentioned that they were a…'gang' of sorts?" Lucy asked, suddenly aware of why the woman looked so distraught. It made her remember how she'd felt when her parents had died—lost and unsure.

The woman explained what Lucy and Natsu already knew from reading the flyer—there was a gang attacking people who travelled on small carriages or on foot right outside the limits of the city. Marceline's husband had fallen victim to the group, and after a, as she had put it, _'half-attempted search by the authorities'_ , she sought help from a place she knew she could count on.

"I know Takao isn't gone—they never found a body so he can't be dead," Marceline said, clenching her apron in her hands as tears fell from her eyes. Her refusal to give up her hope reminded Lucy of Natsu. "But I know that Fairy Tail wizards won't fail me—you are the strongest guild, after all. I saw how you were at the Grand Magic Games, I watched you all fight—I even remember hearing about you years ago," She said, "I have faith in you."

Lucy gave her a gentle smile. "Thank you. We'll do our best to get him back. Do you have anything we could use in order to find him?"

"Something that smells like him," Natsu abruptly said, and Lucy noted how serious he had suddenly gotten. His face was calm but she could sense the masked anger behind his furrowed eyebrows and the slight growl in his voice. His pupils were slits—something Lucy only saw when the dragon slayer was angry. "We could use somethin' like that. Track his scent."

"Oh, your cat can track things? Will a shirt work?" Marceline suggested, "And I can point you in the direction he was heading when he was attacked."

"No, but I can—and that's perfect. We'll take it from there—we'll get Takao back," Natsu told her, and suddenly stood up, setting down his tea cup and clenching his fists. "In fact, I'll do you one better—we'll tear down the entire gang."

"Oh! Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! There isn't enough jewel in the world to thank you!" The woman suddenly started to break down into tears, covering her face with her hands.

The fire in Natsu's eyes was contagious, for Lucy found herself feeling determined, as well. "Don't worry, ma'am—we'll make sure you see your husband again."

After receiving the information and item of clothing they needed, Lucy couldn't help but share an unsettled glance with Happy as Natsu stalked through the streets that led back to the hotel. The sun was about two hours away from setting, and, at the angle Lucy was to Natsu, his narrowed eyes were contrasted starkly against the shadow on his skin.

A little alarmed, Lucy asked, "Natsu, what's wrong?"

The fire-mage stopped in his tracks, his intense olive eyes turning to Lucy and almost frightening her with his intense gaze.

"My nose doesn't lie," He growled, and his pupils narrowed to slits while his lips curled into a snarl, showing off his abnormal canines, "I smelled kids in there—Takao's a dad."

And, suddenly, Lucy understood.

Natsu wasn't enraged at _her_ , but at the people they were after. The fire mage had a tender spot when it came to fathers—which made sense, considering that his own foster parent had disappeared fourteen years ago (or seven, for the people that were on Tenrou Island in stasis for all that time). Natsu lived for the day he'd see Igneel, the dragon that had raised him, again. The white scarf Natsu constantly wore was the only thing he had left of his father, which was an unspoken testament of how highly he thought of him.

Lucy's eyes narrowed, too, as she felt anger start to bubble in her own chest.

"We'll head out tonight, and scout around while it's dark to try and find their hideout—maybe with the cover of the night we won't be seen as easily," Lucy suggested.

Natsu gave her a determined smile as he packed his fist into the palm of his hand, a flame shooting up from the impact. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

 **(A/N): Thanks for reading! Next chapter will most likely be up next weekend-and if not then, then the weekend after will most likely be the set date. If you find any errors or would like to critique so far-please, be my guest!**


	3. Chapter 2

_Break Him_

 _Chapter 2_

* * *

Hours later found the team on a worn path in the forest a mile out of town. The moon sent beams of light through the leaves of the trees and paired with the far-off light of the city, providing enough light that Natsu didn't have to use a flame to see. The dirt crunched softly underneath Lucy's feet while she followed Natsu, the soil being stiffer than usual due to the weather. The air was somewhat chilly, and Lucy found herself regretting the choice to wear shorts on this mission. She shivered, clutching the strap of her small shoulder bag.

"Okay, let me have it," Natsu said, holding his hand out, and Lucy pulled out the white T-shirt Marceline had given them. Lucy watched as Natsu sniffed the shirt like a dog before putting his nose to the air, as well.

"It's been a few days. This'll take a while," Natsu informed, crouching down as he sniffed various areas of the path with his extremely sensitive nose.

"Well, try to hurry," Lucy whined, smacking her arm and flicking away a bug, "I wanna get back before the sun comes up."

"I'll try," He chuckled. "His scent's somewhere around here, I just know it."

"I'll look around and see if I can find any clues," The blonde suggested, and started to wander down the path. "I won't go too far."

"And I'll see if I can spot anything from the sky," Happy said, and he jumped into the air, his angelic wings appearing as the blue cat took flight.

"You don't go too far, either," Lucy called after the flying feline.

"Aye, sir!"

The team worked for twenty minutes, wandering up, down, above, across and around the path to try and find any sign of Takao in the chilly night. Occasionally an owl would hoot throughout the forest, and sometimes a breeze would pick up and rustle the changing leaves left on the trees. Other than that, all was silent. Lucy paused in her search to take a deep breath, drawing in the crisp, cool air, listening to the lulling sound of the peaceful forest.

She glanced down the road at Natsu, who was currently picking up a leaf and sniffing it, before putting it down and moving on to a discarded candy wrapper. He hesitantly put his nose up to it and sniffed before making a noise of disgust and tossing it over his shoulder.

Lucy held back a giggle and turned back to her own search. It always amazed her how sensitive the dragon slayers' senses could be. It was also pretty interesting to watch the dragon slayers put it to use. Lucy found herself briefly wondering what it would be like to have a dragon's sense of smell and hearing—not to mention the other senses she may not even know about. She recalled the times that Natsu would hear a noise that no one else could, or when he could feel a tremor and yell for everyone to duck before an explosion rocked the room.

' _Having the same senses as a dragon; that must be pretty amazing_ ,' Lucy mused as she kicked a small pebble down the dirt path. She briefly wished she could have that ability.

But, then she was reminded of Natsu's episode on the train, earlier.

' _On second thought, maybe being a dragon slayer wouldn't be all that fun._ '

"I got it!"

Lucy jumped as Natsu's voice called out to her, and she realized she had gotten lost in thought as she heard his sandals pounding on the dirt path towards her. He paused beside her, sniffing in a few directions before taking off again.

"You got his scent?" Lucy asked as she chased after him.

"Yeah; there's no doubt—it's definitely the same smell as that shirt," Natsu said, waving up at his flying partner to get his attention. The cat soon noticed his team's movements and flew back down to them, flying alongside them as they ran on the trail through the forest.

"You get something, Natsu?" Happy asked, flapping his wings gracefully beside them.

"Yeah, we'll be there in no time."

As Natsu followed the scent, he often suddenly halted in his tracks to sniff the air to make sure he was following the same smell. This continued until he suddenly stopped, and, instead of continuing forward, turned around and started in the direction they had come.

"What're you doing?" Lucy asked, slightly out of breath from running so long.

"It goes off of the path here," Natsu told her, sniffing either side of the dirt road before he chose the side to the right. "It's this way. We'll have to go through the forest." His olive eyes gazed at the dark stretch of foliage in front of him, taking in the mud and occasional leaf that drifted through the air.

"Oh, great—and I just bought these shoes, too," Lucy whined, but, nonetheless, followed Natsu as he waded through the shrubs and tree roots in his wake. She made something of an ' _eep_ ' when her white sneaker sunk into a patch of mud, and she slipped and fell on her rump. "My shorts!" She moaned, carefully standing up again. The blonde vainly tried to wipe off the mud from the back of her pants as she walked, causing the two boys in front of her to chuckle.

"Lucy, if you had to use the bathroom, you could have just said so," Happy teased, flying in a circle around her tauntingly.

"Oh, yeah?" Lucy growled and snatched Happy's tail, pulling him roughly into the mud.

"Gah!" He cried, writhing in the mud before he stood and tried to shake the substance off of him.

"You deserved that, cat!" Lucy snapped, a smirk on her face as she crossed her arms. Natsu snorted at them as he paused in his tracking to watch the exchange.

The blue cat smiled deviously as he scooped up mud in his paws, took flight, and flung it at Lucy's face. It hit her with a wet slap, and her mouth hung open in shock as she felt the thick grime slide down her cheek.

" _Oh_ ," Lucy ground out, wiping the mud off of her face and preparing to launch it back, "It's _on_."

The blonde proceeded to fling the mud back at the flying cat, hitting him in the chest before he dove down to scoop up more mud to throw back. Lucy and Happy continued their war until Lucy fired a particularly large ball of mud at Happy when he _dodged_ and it hit the innocent bystander standing behind the feline with a _plop_. Both participants froze with mud in each hand, Lucy's sliding out of her hands as Natsu's eyes appeared through the mud coating his facial features.

He calmly wiped the mud from his face, and Lucy thought that, maybe—just _maybe_ —he wouldn't retaliate.

That hope was utterly shattered, however, when a shark-like grin threatened to split Natsu's face in half. Both Happy and Lucy's face drained in color as he suddenly laughed wickedly, bending down and running with his hands scooping at the ground, grabbing large quantities of mud as he charged at them. Happy and Lucy yelped in alarm and turned to run—or, in Happy's case, fly—away from him, but were knocked down by a mud ball that rivaled the size of _Droy_.

Lucy, now buried underneath a pile of mud, quickly sat up as she felt the thick substance seep into places that _mud did not belong in_. She stood up, a look of disbelief in her brown eyes as she gaped at the fire mage, who was doubled over in laughter, his eyes screwed shut as he cackled.

"Okay, okay!" Happy sputtered as he wiped the mud out of his eyes, "You win!"

"Heh-ha," Natsu chuckled, putting his hands on his hips and sticking his chest out arrogantly.

Lucy groaned as she attempted to pull the globs of mud from her hair, pouting as she realized she was completely covered in mud. "That was a little uncalled for, don't you think?" Lucy muttered, carefully wiping the mud from her face and trying not to get it in her eyes or mouth.

"Hey, you started it!" Happy snapped at her indignantly.

"As if, fur ball!" Lucy retorted, shaking her arms to relive her of some of the gunk.

"C'mon, guys—Takao's this way," Natsu suddenly interjected, though a smirk still lingered on his face.

"Yeah, whatever," Lucy huffed, still picking bits of mud off of her.

"My wings are totally covered in mud—I won't be able to fly for a while," Happy whined, flapping his appendages to shake off the dirt. "Aww—I don't wanna _walk_!"

"Maybe you should have thought about that before throwing mud at me," The celestial spirit mage growled.

Natsu chuckled as he scratched at his cheek, the mud already starting to dry and irritating the dragon-slayer's skin. Bits of dirt sprinkled off of his chin, and he suddenly got an idea.

"Hey, hold still, you two," Natsu told them, and he curled his hands around his mouth, preparing to blow through them.

Recognizing the stance, Lucy looked at the fire mage in horror. "Natsu, what are you—?!"

" _Fire Dragon_ _ **Roar**_ _!_ "

"Natsu, wait!" Happy exclaimed, but it was too late.

Fire erupted from Natsu's mouth, shooting faster than his team could blink and enveloping them completely.

Lucy yelled in alarm as the flames surrounded her body, but she paused as she realized that they were doing just that— _surrounding_ her. They weren't touching her or burning her in the least. She could feel the heat of the fire on her skin, and watched in fascination as the flames danced around her. When they dissipated, she stared dumbfounded at Natsu, who was smiling cheekily at his friends.

How much control did it take to actually _do that_?

"There; is that better?" He asked, wiping his mouth with a fist as if he had only belched.

"What? Why would it be—" Lucy stopped herself when she moved to put her hand on her hip, watching as dirt crumbled and fell from her body with ease. "Oh."

"He dried the mud," Happy stated, shaking his shoulders, ruffling his feathers and feeling the relief as he rid himself of most of the dirt.

"Thanks, Natsu," Lucy said, brushing away most of the powdery dirt off of her clothes and body.

He replied with another big smile, and gave her a thumbs up.

The team continued their trek through the forest without any more mishaps, Lucy and Happy staying silent as Natsu focused on the scent he was following. As she walked behind Natsu, Lucy turned her head to gaze at the night sky, marveling in the beams of light that could be seen shooting up into the darkness due to the city being so near and so bright. She briefly tried to find one of her celestial spirit's constellations, but quickly gave up as she could see nothing but jumbles of stars. As she squinted to try to make out _any_ constellation she knew, she jumped when she accidently bumped into the mage in front of her.

"Sorry," she said, wondering why he'd suddenly stopped. However, Natsu didn't respond as he kept his back to her, and suddenly grabbed her arm and crouched to the ground behind a bush, taking her with him. "Hey, what—"

"Shh," he told her, and motioned with his head above the bush. Confused, Lucy peeked through the leaves, her eyes widening when she heard footsteps, followed by the sight of them passing by the tall bush.

"…heard something over here—sounded like a girl yelling, or somethin'," a voice said, and Lucy's heart dropped as she realized they were talking about her; they must have heard her and Happy's scuffle earlier.

"Oh, c'mon," another voice huffed, "What would a girl be doing out here in the middle of the night? You're gettin' old, Mark—you're hearin' things."

"Eh, I don't know," the first voice replied unsurely, "Guess we'll just report it back to base, just to be safe."

The other voice gave a 'tch' of annoyance, but didn't say anything else as the footsteps retreated. The team in hiding waited a few minutes before daring to move again. Honestly, Lucy was surprised Natsu was able to stay silent for so long.

"That was them," Natsu hissed quietly, carefully peering over the top of the bush.

"Are you sure?" Lucy asked, "That could have been anybody."

"Then we'll just follow 'em and see where they're 'reporting back to'," Natsu told her quietly, standing from his hiding spot and carefully making his way in the direction the two men had gone in. "Takao's scent takes us this way, anyways."

"Wait," Lucy whispered, stopping him and standing, as well. "What do we do if it _is_ them and they lead us to the gang's base? How are we gonna get Takao? We don't even know how many of them there'll be."

At this, Natsu gave her a confident smirk, and punched the palm of his hand. "We'll just have to bust in and find out." With that, the fire mage turned and continued to march in the direction the guards had gone, Happy flying behind him.

"Somehow, that doesn't reassure me," Lucy muttered, rolling her eyes, but followed the dragon slayer, anyways.

An hour of silently walking through the forest passed as Natsu tracked the three scents he was following. The two men they had encountered were going in the _exact_ direction Takao's scent was leading them, which only reassured Natsu that they were right on the money of tracking this gang. Lucy, however, found her anxiety building as she followed the ever-confident dragon slayer. How tough _were_ these guys, exactly? How many would there be? Natsu could easily handle forty or even fifty wizards on his own—given that they weren't all extremely powerful; but that was another thing that tugged at Lucy's mind: what if they were?

The blonde shook her head—they'd get through this. They always did. Plus, she was with _Natsu_ , of all people; she'd be fine, and if things got too dangerous, they could always retreat and call Erza or Gray for backup. Lucy knew this would be one mission that Natsu would _not_ accept failure on—especially with the chance of Takao being alive.

The celestial spirit mage's train of thought was interrupted when Natsu stopped again, this time in confusion.

"That's weird," he muttered, and sniffed the air again.

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

"The trail stops here," the fire mage said, and looked around uncertainly.

"What do you mean? They couldn't have just disappeared." Lucy looked around, as well. "Maybe you just lost their scent."

"No." Natsu shook his head, and sniffed as he walked up to the large tree beside the team. "It's…" He muttered, and placed his hand on the tree—or, more accurately, _through_ it. The bark around Natsu's hand warped and rippled oddly, dissolving around his hand and revealing a dark area through the ruptured illusion.

"A secret entrance," Lucy stated, her face betraying her shock.

Natsu pulled his hand out of the tree, watching as the area his hand had been in changed back into the bark that had been there just moments ago. A few seconds of silence passed by before Natsu spoke up again.

"Well, let's go."

"Natsu, wait—" Lucy exclaimed, but Natsu was already walking into the tree.

"C'mon, Lucy," Happy said, flying through the entrance, as well.

The spirit mage sighed, exasperated, and followed him. "Figures you'd just rush in without…thinking…"

As Lucy emerged through the entrance of the tree, her sentence trailed off as she beheld what, exactly, she had walked in to. It was about the width of a closet—so small that any claustrophobe would immediately turn around and leave.

The small space's floor, walls, floor and ceiling around her were made entirely of stone-like bricks, and the floor only went forward five feet before morphing into a staircase that stretched down into the darkness. There were no torches, no windows, and no moonlight flitting through the trees—the only reason Lucy could see was because Natsu was currently illuminating the place with a flame that enveloped his hand.

"What… is this…?" Lucy breathed.

"I don't know, but we're about to find out. Keep your guard up, guys—something here smells wrong," Natsu told his team quietly.

"Aye, sir," Happy whispered.

They started down the stone stairway, Lucy and Natsu's steps echoing throughout the tunnel as they descended farther into the earth. There was the constant sound of water dripping somewhere, and, the deeper they went, the mustier the air grew, almost choking Lucy with the sheer thickness of the atmosphere. The tunnel curved and turned in different directions—the stairs eventually ended, and the channel widened and split into two separate paths.

"Which way?" Lucy asked.

Natsu put his nose to the air and turned his head in both directions. "Those guys went that way," he said, pointing straight ahead, and then turning to the passage that had appeared on the left. "I… I think Takao's that way."

"What do you mean, 'you think'?!" Lucy demanded, "I thought we were following his scent!"

"There's too many new smells down here; it's messing with my nose. And his scent was stale—this is as far as I can track it," Natsu explained, rubbing the back of his head with the hand that wasn't occupied with a flame.

"Well, which way do we go?" Happy asked, "We can't split up in a place like this."

"That's true," Natsu said, and looked to Lucy.

"If we follow those men, they may lead us somewhere that could hint where Takao is," Lucy suggested, tapping her chin in thought.

"Right; let's go," Natsu decided, and started on the path straight ahead. The team trekked quietly through the corridors on high alert in case someone encountered them, guided by the light Natsu provided. So far, however, they hadn't encountered a single person.

"You'd think we would've run in to someone by now," Happy commented, his voice hushed.

"Do you _want_ to get caught?" Lucy snapped, her voice equally as soft.

"I'm just saying," Happy retorted.

They went on in silence for about ten more minutes before Natsu suddenly halted, which made his teammates stop, too. The flame on his hand grew.

"I…hear something," he whispered, his brows furrowing as he listened. "There's voices—a lot of 'em."

"Are they coming towards us?" Lucy asked, putting her hand over her celestial keys cautiously.

Natsu turned his head and smirked at the blonde. "Let's go find out!"

With that, Natsu took off running towards the noise, his other fist lighting up in flames as he charged.

"Wha— _Natsu_!" Lucy exclaimed, running after him in slight annoyance that was only pierced by a twinge of fear. She had a bad feeling about this. As she chased the fire mage with Happy in tow, Lucy heard voices over the pounding of her heart in her ears—but said organ nearly stopped when she realized just _how many_ voices she heard. The blonde figured there were at least hundreds of them; the air grew thick with the smell of body odor and something that was absolutely _wretched_. She almost gagged, putting her hand over her mouth and nose as she ran. Lucy saw light shining from the next turn in the stone corridor, and, steeling her nerves, ran just as bravely as Natsu did into the turn.

They both skidded to a stop, however, when they saw the sheer _size_ of the room they had just barged into. The ceiling was stone, but sat what looked to be fifty feet in the air, while the chamber itself was nearly the size of a football field. They had entered from the left side of the room; their rectangular entrance suspended about twenty feet on the wall as stairs cut into the stone led the rest of the way down to the floor of the room. Torches were on either side of the entrance, as well as scattered on the walls of the room and on stakes on the floor, explaining the light that Lucy had seen before she had turned the corner.

The dim lighting revealed what the room actually held.

A large, stage-like platform was on the farthest end of the gargantuan room, lit up by large torches sitting on each corner of the area. Just below the stage were three long, wooden tables that stretched in half of the length of the room.

But that's not what made Lucy's heart jump in her throat—no; where there were tables, there were chairs, and where there were chairs…

…there were _hundreds_ and _hundreds_ of people.

Every seat was filled—and, even then, men and women dressed in the same blue robe were packed so tightly in the room that they were shoulder-to-shoulder. They were especially crowded around the stage where two figures alone stood, with the people thinning out slightly as they reached the stairs Lucy and her friends were at the top of.

Unable to move her feet, she blindly pawed at Natsu's arm from beside him, unable to tear her eyes away from the mass of people below her chatting, eating, drinking and laughing haughtily in such a way that reminded her of her guild.

Was _this_ a guild…?

A few eyes in the crowd turned up to her and stared. Lucy could feel magic radiating from the room.

"N-natsu, maybe we should—"

But Lucy sprung three feet off of the ground when Natsu's voice erupted beside her.

" ** _Hey!_** "

The room abruptly went eerily silent, and _every single_ head in the chamber turned to face them.

"Oh, my god," Lucy whispered to herself as she felt the color drain from her face. They were going to _die_.

Natsu bashed his fists together, his olive eyes glinting dangerously as the fire on his hands spread to the rest of his body.

" _We're here for Takao! And we ain't leavin' without him!_ " The dragon-slayer boomed, " _We're takin' all of you_ _ **down**_!"

The room was silent for a few moments before someone in the crowd coughed and an old voice close to the stage called out "What did he say?"

Natsu's brave stance faltered in confusion, his flames flickering uncertainly. "This _is_ a gang base, right?"

Lucy's bad feeling heightened as one of the figures on stage gestured with his hands, catching the attention of some of the people dressed in robes. Whatever God was out there must have forsaken Lucy and her friends at that moment, because, then…

…All and complete utter hell broke loose.

* * *

 **(A/N): Next part is in the works ^^ Please, leave a review and tell me what you think! :)  
**


	4. Chapter 3

_Break Him_

Ch 3

Princey

* * *

It had happened so fast and so unexpectedly—Natsu hadn't known he'd been hit until he found himself gasping for air. Something had slammed into his abdomen— _hard_. Winded, Natsu felt slick, cold stone on his back and realized he had been kicked back through the entrance in which he had come, slamming into the hard wall of the corridor. He fell to the ground, his eyes wide and confused. The roar of battle cries erupting from the giant room filled his ears, and, distantly, his sensitive hearing found Lucy and Happy's voices.

"What the heck?" The fire mage panted, and he lifted his head to see a figure in a deep blue robe. Their face was hidden by a blue hood with golden designs near its edges, and Natsu could feel magic pulsing from them. They smelled of something earthy and sour. The pink-headed man stood, his olive eyes glinting dangerously.

"So it was you, huh? Lucky hit," Natsu growled, and clenched his fists, feeling the heat on his hands as flames formed around both of them. His eyes darted behind the figure in front of him and he caught a glimpse of a black and white mass swinging an axe around at the wave of people that had charged after them—Taurus. Lucy was fighting all those people out there. Natsu growled, his lips curling back and revealing his canines.

"Outta my way—I've got a dad to save."

The figure in Natsu's way responded by raising a hand above his head and sticking his other arm out to the side. Natsu tensed as a large magic circle formed mid-air in front of the figure. The markings were black, outlined by a dark blue glow. Faster than Natsu's eye could see, spheres of blue energy the size of base balls burst from the magic circle, hitting the fire mage before he could even blink. He grunted as he leapt to the side, wincing as sharp stings pierced his body where the spheres hit him.

Growling, the flame on his hands grew brighter and bigger before he jumped on the side of the wall, using his momentum to spring off of it and hurl himself at his attacker.

" _Fire Dragon's_ —" He shouted as he swung his fist, catching the figure in the jaw, " _ **Iron Fist**_!"

The wizard was sent sideways into the opposite wall made of stone, and, Natsu, without sparing his target a glance, rushed back into the giant room. Natsu ignored the brief double-vision he gained, as well as the aching in his fist, shaking his head as it cleared and brushing it off. Lucy stood with her back to him, with Happy flying near her head while Taurus fought off the wave of people charging the stairs that led up to them. Natsu ran past Lucy and up to Taurus, ignoring the blonde as she shouted his name. The fire mage sprung into the air just behind the giant bull, flipping before landing on his shoulders and balancing on the celestial spirit's shoulder on one hand. The cow spared him a glance, too busy in holding off their attackers to pay the fire mage his whole attention.

"Think you can give me a lift?" Natsu smirked at the surprised bull, and the cow's face gave him a confident grin before nodding.

"You got it, Natsuuu!" Taurus bellowed and grabbed the mage in a fingerless-gloved hand, and wound his large arm before pitching Natsu towards the center of the massive room's ceiling. The fire mage couldn't help but laugh in exhilaration as he shot like a rocket towards the peak of the room, and, as he turned his feet to meet the ceiling, he felt his body pulse in heat as he called upon a spell. His hands flared to life as he crashed into the stone ceiling.

Natsu steeled himself—' _Here goes!_ '

" _The flames of my right hand and the flames of my left,"_ The mage shouted as he started to descend head-first towards the entire mass of people below him, feeling the exhilarating pulse of his heart hammering adrenaline through his body. Attacks were fired at him—a few small ones made their mark, but the dragon slayer paid them no attention. " _Put 'em together and you get—!"_

Natsu slammed his fists together, aiming at the ground. Many of the dark group started to shout in alarm.

" _Fire Dragon's—_ " Natsu bellowed, and his voice seemed to rupture any other sound in the room. The mage brought his fists over his head—he was ten feet away from the ground. " _ **Brilliant Flame**_ _!_ "

Natsu slammed his fists downwards just as he met the earth, and fire erupted from the wizard's body.

Screams tore through the room as an explosion shook the entire chamber, the fire reaching well over two-thirds of the giant cavity. People were thrown into the walls by the sheer force of the explosion—pieces of the walls and ceiling started crumbling down. The ones unlucky enough to be nearest to Natsu were thrown backwards as flames enveloped them, crashing into their own people and taking a few of them out. Once the light from the explosion faded, Natsu was left standing in the crater he'd created in the stone when he'd landed and then fired off a giant detonation. There were at _least_ a hundred people piled around him that were either dead or unable to move, and Natsu glared at them without remorse.

The group now surrounding him started to panic.

"He's stronger than we thought!"

"Th-That mark on his arm! That's—!"

"Don't be scared! He's just one guy!"

Natsu's expression was deadly as he scanned the room to locate Lucy and Happy—they were holding their own at the top of the staircase. Although, Natsu noticed that Taurus had been replaced by Leo—or, Loke, as Natsu preferred to call him—and Lucy was fighting beside him with her whip. They could put up a good fight, but Natsu knew they would not last long under the continuous onslaught of mages. These guys were not the usual minions that could be taken out in one punch—they were each trained well in magic. Natsu knew that just by how dense the magic in the room was.

The fire mage was snapped out of his thoughts when something slammed into him again, and Natsu caught a whiff of the earthy scent he'd identified earlier. The pink-haired man was thrown to his knees from the force, where he quickly got up and felt heat surge off of him in anger.

"You again." Natsu growled as he saw the hooded figure from a minute ago standing calmly before him. "Tell me where Takao is!" The mage shouted, and threw himself forward at his target.

His opponent simply made hand gestures that created a magic circle, and Natsu's sensitive ears picked up the low murmurings of a spell being cast. The now-familiar sphere attack was fired at Natsu, and he dodged the projectiles with ease before charging at his attacker.

" _Fire Dragon's_ ," Natsu yelled as flames enveloped his body once again. He charged with a speed greater than any man could run, heading directly for the figure before him. Natsu bowed his head forwards, ramming head-first through the rain of blue spheres and into the other wizard's abdomen. " _ **Sword Horn**_!"

With a blast of fire, the attacker was sent flying across the room, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake as he landed somewhere in the crowd of people packed into the room. Natsu stood with his fists clenched, panting.

"That's for earlier," Natsu chuckled, but he paused when his vision blurred again, and he rubbed at his eyes. Suddenly, pressure built in his head and he found the top of his noggin pounding painfully.

 _'What the—? It feels like my head took a beating,_ ' Natsu thought, and couldn't bring himself to react when the people around him readied attacks and drew closer. He put a hand to the area he'd rammed into his opponent with, vainly trying to blink away his hazy vision.

It was then that pain erupted on his back, and he yelped as he stumbled forward a few feet. He turned, and glared in the direction the attack had come from, watching as a white magic circle faded, before Natsu's ears picked up the sound of chuckling.

Though his eyes refused to focus, Natsu charged forward, anyways, his feet setting ablaze as he jumped into the air.

" _Fire Dragon's—_ " Natsu called yet another spell, flipping and slamming his foot into his attacker with crushing force. " _ **Talon**_!" The attack resulted in another explosion, and, although it was considerably smaller than the previous one, it still sent quite a few troops flying. Natsu landed on his feet clumsily, sticking his arms out to his sides to try and regain balance.

 _'What the crap?'_ Natsu thought as he tried to shake away his blurry vision again. _'Why can't I see straight…?'_

"Natsu!"

The fire mage turned his gaze above him to see a blue blur flying over the crowd. Something yellow-orange danced in the figure's hands.

"Happy!" Natsu replied to his partner, and the item in the feline's hands started to fall towards him. Natsu didn't need to see the thing to know what it was. The dragon slayer leapt into the air, dodging another attack as he did so, and grabbed the item in the midst of its descent. Feeling the singeing on his hands made him smile, and, as he fell towards the ground again, he started to eat.

Happy had dropped the mage one of the many torches that were hanging on the giant walls of the stone chamber. The flames dancing on the end of the light source disappeared in chunks as Natsu impossibly bit through them. The pink headed mage continued to eat the flame even as he landed on the ground, baffling some of the enemy near him. Natsu swallowed down the last flickering flame on the torch, almost shuddering in satisfaction at the burning in his throat—similar to that first drink of ice-cold soda stinging the throat. That, however, is a _very_ large understatement in comparison to what Natsu felt when he experienced that almost-painful, yet, almost-addictive, sensation of flames traveling through his body.

Blinking hard as he threw the now dull torch over his shoulder, Natsu wiped his mouth with a fist. His vision cleared. Olive eyes took in bewildered faces around him and their owner smirked.

"Oh, yeah; now I've got a fire in my belly," Natsu chuckled to himself, "Thanks for the snack, Happy!"

"Aye, sir!"

The fire mage felt his lungs burn like two hot coals as he called upon another spell.

" _Fire Dragon's—_ " Natsu yelled as he put his hands up to his mouth, curving them as if they were about to form a blow-dart gun. " _ **Roar**_!"

A stream of fire wide enough to stretch from wall-to-wall of the chamber erupted from Natsu's mouth, shooting through his hands and enveloping any sorry soul that dared to stand in his way. When the flames cleared, Natsu saw that he hadn't taken out as many people as he'd intended. Magic barriers seemed to be in front of random groups of people, fading as the flames dissipated.

"Defense magic, huh?" Natsu observed, giving them a toothy grin. "Can't say I'm impressed," He said, shrugging his shoulders. His expression darkened again quickly. "I'll ask ya' again; _where's Takao?_ "

The crowd shifted nervously and began to back away, casting each other glances.

"Heh, I'm 'fraid we cain't tell ya' that, Rosy." A gruff voice snickered, and Natsu shifted his eyes to see a man bearing a rather large stomach with the beginnings of an unkempt beard poking from under his nose and jawline. He wore a cloak like everyone else, but his hood was off of his head, and his dark brown eyes glared in arrogance, coupled with a menacing grin. Though his stomach poked out in an obvious beer-gut, his arms were large and crossed over his chest.

"Oh, yeah?" Natsu said, and shifted his feet in a ready position. "So you _do_ know where he is. Guess I'll have to beat it out of ya'," He threatened, and his voice rumbled with a faint growl from his throat.

However, the southern drawl of the large man rang in laughter, and his hands went to his hips. "I wouldn't do that, if I's you, boy."

"Yeah, and why's that?" The fire mage snapped in irritation—this guy was starting to remind him of that crazy cowgirl that had made that robot dragon. Ugh.

"Well, see," The man's grin—which was missing a tooth, or two—grew, and he shrugged offhandedly "yer in a bit of a pickle, Rosy. That purty lil' thang you brought whi'tcha', 'member her? Or did'ja forget about 'er?"

Natsu's eyes widened. Lucy.

He swung his head around, his eyes searching frantically for his teammate. She was there, at the top of the staircase—unconscious. A figure in a cloak held her by the neck with a black-gloved hand. The figure had burned areas on the front of his clothing; it was the one that had first attacked Natsu—the one with the weird smell. She was bruised, blood was smeared on her knees and arms, as if she had fallen on the hard stone. The shoulder bag she had brought with her was nowhere to be found.

" _Lucy_!" Natsu called, but the blonde gave no response.

"Now, listen here, Rosy; we gon' take you 'n blondie, here, and put'chee in our dungeon. You gon' tell us how ye' fount us, and yer gon' do it without complainin'. If yee' don't, then miss thang's gon' be in fer one heck of a night with me, hoo-yah!" The man with the southern drawl whooped, causing some of the other cloaked figures to hoot and holler and whistle.

Natsu felt his chest tighten. His eyes widened, his pupils narrowed to slits, and he felt his lip curl and his nose wrinkle in anger.

"You're not gonna lay a finger on her," Natsu hissed, and his voice was laced in venom. "I won't let you!"

With that, the fire-mage charged at the redneck in front of him, his fist behind him and prepared to strike. He gave the man a right hook, which sent the almost tubby dark man stumbling to the side. He spat, and glared at Natsu.

"Now, listen, here, boy—"

Natsu gave him no time to recover, and felt his feet ignite in flames. He kicked the man in the chest, before assaulting him with punch after punch. Yelling in anger as he continued his onslaught of punches, Natsu vaguely realized that none of the other members of the mysterious group were offering to land a hand to fight the fire mage.

With a final, blazing punch, Natsu caught the southern man in the jaw, watching as he fell onto the stone ground.

"Sorry, but I'm not good at following directions," Natsu smirked darkly. However, his eyebrows creased in confusion when the redneck shakily rolled and got on his knees, lifting his head and giving Natsu a twisted grin.

"You done did it now, boy!"

"Natsu!"

The fire-mage turned his head to see Lucy with one eye open, the chocolate iris looking down in Natsu's direction.

"Drain…Magic…" Lucy gasped, her limp arms twitching. "Can't tou—"

But Natsu unintentionally interrupted her when he yelped in pain, falling to his knees as his hands and feet were subjected to a bone-shattering pain. He tried to move, but found his feet numb, as if they had suddenly fallen asleep, and his eyes widened in horror.

Drain magic—he had heard of it before, but had never encountered it. With every touch the wielder deemed a physical attack, the attack _er_ was then to pay the consequence for it—pain.

"Yer girl's right, Rosy," The gruff voice of the man chuckled. "See, Ah'm one'a the leaders in this, here, organ _i_ zation. The name's Spud—y'know, like the tater? Yeah, mah parents wain't the smartest."

'' _Wain't'…?'_ Natsu couldn't help but think, and he gasped as his arms started to throb in pain. _'Why's it spreading?!'_

"Now, I gave yee' a chance, ya' hear?" Spud growled, and started towards Natsu. The fire mage watched, his knees numb and his thighs starting to follow suit as he swayed and struggled to stay on all fours. His shoulders shook with the effort to keep his unresponsive muscles working, and his breathing grew labored. How had the tables turned so _easily_?! "Looks like yer girl's gon' be mine for the night, hoo-hah!"

"Lucy…" Natsu managed, and strained to turn his head up to the blonde, his eyes wide and angry—angry at Spud, at himself. The celestial mage hung lifelessly from her captor's grasp, her brown eyes scared and silently rooting and pleading for Natsu.

He had to get her out of here— _now_.

Natsu steeled himself, and he growled as he sat up shakily on one knee. Pain shot through his limbs, and he grunted and ignored it. _Lucy_.

"Hoo-hah, what's this, here, now? No one's ever done been awake this long after landin' hits on me, Rosy. 'M impressed, hah!" Spud laughed haughtily, and loomed over Natsu as he struggled to stand.

"You ain't…touchin' Lucy…" Natsu gasped, and heaved himself shakily to his feet, one of his eyes screwed shut in pain, and the other boring into Spud's dirty brown eyes—he couldn't feel his legs.

 _Lucy_.

"Hoo-hah, you think yee' can just—" But he was cut off as fire enveloped him. Shouting in alarmed agony, Spud backed away frantically, and dispelled the fire with some sort of defense magic. However, when the flames dissipated, Natsu was gone. Spud swung his burly head and eyes locked with the figure charging up the stair case many feet away. "How'd ya'—?! _Grah, get 'eem!_ "

Natsu ran—or, rather, stumbled numbly—up the staircase, his eyes wide and enraged. Fire surrounded him, and every attack launched at him was burned away by the intense flames. When three steps separated him from the impassive figure holding Lucy, Natsu faltered and gasped as pain shot up his spine.

 _Lucy._

And for the first time, the weird-smelling figure spoke to Natsu in a voice floating on silk, classified as neither feminine nor masculine.

"You have no hope. Surrender. You have lost."

Natsu stayed knelt on the ground for a moment, gasping for breath as he fought off the fogginess in his head. The figure remained unfazed by the flames dancing dangerously close to them. The fire-mage grunted, and started to push himself up, only for his hand to slip on the edge of a stone step, and his chin met the hard surface painfully with a 'crack'.

The figure lowered Lucy and let her drop to the ground. They took a step towards the weakened Natsu, and held their hand out, a magic circle forming there.

"This ends now."

Natsu vaguely felt himself be lifted from the ground.

An explosion rocked the room, and the crowd of hooded people gasped and shrieked. The floor shook, and the walls rumbled as the white energy the figure created pierced the air with a deafening roar. When the light faded, there was a blackened stain left where Natsu had knelt, and the figure gave a 'hmph' of satisfaction.

" _Fire Dragon's_ —"

The cloaked figure's gaze snapped upwards, their hidden eyes widening as they saw the fire mage suspended in the air by a blue cat—by Happy. The feline released him, before darting down out of range of Natsu's trademark attack. He snatched Lucy up from the ground by her green blouse before the figure Natsu was targeting could comprehend what was happening, and shot through the entrance to the big room of which they had entered.

" _ **Roa—ar**_!"

And as the flames rocketed from his mouth, and even allowed him to remain in the air a moment longer, Natsu felt his body go limp, and his vision swam between spots of color and black as he descended. He thought he could hear Lucy shouting his name.

Natsu was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

* * *

" _ **Natsu**_!"

Happy clenched his teeth, trying to ignore Lucy's shout as he flew with Lucy in his arms. They rocketed through the tunnels of the dark, heinous fortress they had so stupidly charged into. Happy's wings flashed green, illuminating their path, as he charged forward with maximum speed, flattening his ears and blinking away tears.

In all the years, in all the adventures and the hopeless situations, Happy never could have thought that—

"Happy, turn around right now!" Lucy shouted, and started to thrash weakly in his grasp. "Natsu—Natsu's back there!"

Happy made the final turn of the hideout, and spotted the stone staircase they had previously used. He flew impossibly faster.

" _Happy_!" Lucy cried out, and she reached up and grasped what she could of him. Happy ignored the pain of her tugging desperately at his ear and his cheek.

" _I had to_!" Happy finally screeched, and briefly turned his pained eyes to glare at her and wrinkle his muzzle in pain. His face was released, and the hands that had inflicted pain on him now covered Lucy's face as she sobbed.

And then the cramped, stone tunnels gave way to a dark night, and Happy kept flying. He did not ascend, but weaved in and out of the trees and shrubs in their wake. This went on for another minute, or two, and Happy felt his magic falter; he needed to land. Happy ignored the warning his body gave him, and flapped his wings in determination.

"We've gotta go back for him," Lucy said, and Happy could feel her brown eyes on her as she spoke.

Happy shook his head, "We can't ."

"What?" Lucy snapped, "What do you mean?! We can't just leave him—"

"Natsu made me promise to get you back to the guild," Happy explained, and his speed decreased as his wings started to ache.

* * *

 _Happy's eyes widened, his arms dropping the many torches he had gathered for his partner as he spotted the fire-mage on the top of the stone staircase in which his team had used. He ignored the exclaims of pain as the torches landed on the people below him, and he flapped his wings frantically to reach Natsu before the attack being aimed at the wizard could hit him. He snatched the teenager in his paws, hauling him into the air just as white energy blew them even farther away._

" _Happy."_

 _The cat's ears perked as Natsu spoke—he sounded weak._

" _You've…gotta get Lucy out of here. Take her to the guild."_

" _What?" Happy exclaimed, "I can't just leave you here, Natsu! Are you crazy?"_

 _The attack previously fired started to dissipate._

" _I'm stayin' here…'gonna find Takao…" Natsu breathed, and Happy could tell he was losing the last bit of his strength._

" _But—"_

" _I ain't arguing with you, Happy! Now, go! I'll be fine! Take care of Lucy!"_

 _And with that, Natsu suddenly twisted out of the cat's grip, and started to descend towards the figure that had attacked him._

* * *

"We're gonna go to the guild, and get some backup," Happy said. The blue cat's lips curled back in anger, and he met Lucy's brown eyes from underneath him. Her face held trails of tears, but her eyes were starting to shine in determination.

"Don't worry," He said, "We'll be back."

* * *

 **Me:** **Mwahaha** - _ **MWAHAHAHAAAAAA**_!

I mean- _ahem_ -Until next time!


	5. Chapter 4

_Break Him_

Chapter 4

Princey

* * *

"Lucy…I can't fly much longer," Happy panted, and his eyes drooped with the effort to keep he and Lucy in the air. They'd been flying for ten minutes, and, although Happy's max speed had given them a massive head start, Lucy feared that their current pace would leave them in the enemy's hands soon. "…and it's… not helping that you're so heavy…"

Happy was flying so low to the ground that Lucy's half-limp feet were dragging lightly on the dirt of the forest—it had been a stupid mistake to strike the person that had grabbed her. She was completely drained of magical and physical strength.

"Okay," She said, ignoring the jab and giving the feline a weak nod. Her eyes were drooping, too, and she hadn't even the strength to wipe away the previous signs of tears from her cheeks. "I'll try and…walk for a bit…"

Happy came to a hover over the forest floor, and Lucy gingerly put weight on her feet in order to stand. Happy helped to steady her as she gathered her strength, and she gave the cat a tired smile when she found that she could, indeed, stand. She took a few steps forward, breathing hard with the effort, and listening as Happy dropped to the ground and walked tiredly beside her.

"We should… rest…" Happy panted, and Lucy noted that his tail was dragging tiredly on the ground. His ears were sagging, and he seemed to be struggling to put one foot in front of the other.

"Here," Lucy said, and carefully bent down to scoop up the cat in her arms. Her weak arms ached in protest, but when Happy relaxed in her hold and muttered his thanks, she found she did not have the heart to put him back down.

"We'll…go to the hotel, get out stuff," Lucy explained breathlessly, "and then, we'll…we'll get the next train to Magnolia…"

Happy mumbled something that sounded like an 'okay,' and Lucy took a deep breath as she tried to walk a little faster. She continued on her path through the forest, her mind wandering as she forced one foot in front of the other, the lights from the city glowing in the distance acting as her only guide. The crunch of the leaves and rocks under her tennis shoes, coupled with her labored breathing, were the only sounds in the night, and Lucy found it eerily silent. She figured that it may be early morning—perhaps half-past three or four—and the events of the day were really starting to take a toll on her.

After what seemed like hours of walking, Lucy arrived at the city, and staggered down the streets. The few people walking down the paths at such a late hour cast her strange or worried looks, but she ignored them, for she had other things on her mind.

They had left Natsu behind.

She had been trying not to think about it, but it was now starting to demand her attention. Tears gathered in her eyes, but she bit her bottom lip to avoid crying out and waking the now sleeping Exceed in her arms.

The celestial mage remembered, with a painful twist of her stomach, the woman who had requested their help. Should she go and tell her what happened?

Lucy paused on the sidewalk, her eyes gazing somberly at the reflection of herself in the window of a jewelry shop. She had bruises all over her, and her hair had been partially taken from the band she had tied it up in. The blonde locks were in knots and stuck out in random places, but Lucy could not find the decency to care. Brown eyes wandered to the cat in her arms, which she saw had dark streaks underneath his closed eyes.

"I… don't know what to do…" She said to herself quietly. And it was the truth—not just about the woman she needed to inform, but about everything.

Natsu had always been there—from the very start of her adventure with Fairy Tail. _Actually_ , Lucy thought, _he's the one that kind of started it_ for _me._

Where would she be now if Natsu hadn't burst in and broken her from Bora's spell all that time ago in Hargeon?

 _In some stranger's bed, probably_ , she thought with disgust, and still found the anger in her heart for all the women subjected to that kind of treatment—for any human, actually. No one deserved to live like that—exposed to abuse and being forced to do something inhumane just for kicks.

Lucy's stomach grew cold as she remembered her comrade, and the tears in her eyes fell as she continued her trek to her hotel. She tried to remain focused on finding her way back to the hotel, and, when she finally found the right street and the right building, went inside to find a different person seated at the service desk than earlier.

The man was asleep face-down on the counter, his arm on the surface with pen in hand, as if he had been prepared to write something before falling asleep. Lucy prepared to go to her room before she realized that her shoulder bag was not with her. She must have dropped it during the fight, she realized with a surge of annoyance. She'd have to ask for another key for both rooms.

Lucy stood awkwardly for a moment before she cleared her throat and uttered a soft 'hello?'

When she didn't get a response, she stepped a little closer to the desk and spoke a little louder, "Excuse me?"

The man popped up from the desk with a yelp of surprise, a string of words flying from his mouth. " _I' 'tmeantofallasleepIpromiseitwon'thappenagai—_ Hey, you're not Mr. Monit."

"Uh," Lucy sputtered, and blinked stupidly, and spoke tiredly. "No," She said, "We have two rooms here, but I've lost the keys; I was wondering if I could have more…? We just need to get our luggage and we'll be right out."

"Oh, uh—," The serviceman sputtered, and stood before turning to the storage cabinet behind him. "What are your room numbers?" Lucy answered him, and he began through the wooden cabinet's contents, picking out a key and continuing for a few minutes before turning back to Lucy.

"I'm sorry, I can only seem to find the spare key to one of your rooms. Did you happen to ask for the spare key before now?" The man asked, and handed over the key.

"No, I—" Lucy interrupted herself when she painfully remembered the certain someone that had been on her bed after she had showered. Natsu had gotten the spare key to her room. He wasn't here. Neither was the key. "Yes…"

"Then I'm afraid I can't help you until noon tomorrow—that's when the owner gets here. Plus, you have to pay for the lost keys," the man explained almost nervously.

Lucy shook her head, and found herself getting worked up. Why was nothing going her way? "We don't have that much time—I'm leaving as soon as I get my things. My money is in my room, and— Can't you just make an exception? I just need my bag!"

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am, but its policy. Without the key, I can't let you in."

Lucy glared at the man at the desk with tears in her eyes, and turned away from him sharply, refusing to listen to any more he had to say. She stomped through the lobby of the hotel until she came to the room Natsu had rented, and used the key she had gotten to unlock the door. She stepped inside, sniffing and trying to blink away her tears. Shutting the door behind her, Lucy took in the room that had hardly been touched at all, except for the winkled blanket on the bed where Happy had slept hours before. She set the cat on the bed and gathered the few things she thought could be Natsu's, and put them in the green bag Natsu carried with him when he traveled. Making sure she hadn't missed anything in the room, she cast Happy a glance before going into the hall again. Lucy looked around for a sign of anyone, and quietly came to the door next to Natsu's. She tried the doorknob, knowing it would not give, but willing it to, anyways.

It did not budge.

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows and pushed the door a little harder. It did not give. She pushed her shoulder up against it, and put her weight on the door. No change.

She backed away from the door, and glared at it hard; all she needed was her bag—she'd pay for the damage later. She ran full force at the door—she could do this, it was just a door! And as she charged as hard as her tired body would allow, she closed her eyes and steeled herself for the blow.

So, one could imagine her surprise when the door opened right before she had a chance to ram it.

" _Gah!_ "

There was an assembly of grunts and surprised shouts, and Lucy realized that she had not hit the door, but the figure that _had opened it_.

Once they stopped moving, Lucy quickly got off of the person, sputtering line after line of apologies for running into the mystery doorman.

"What in the—" A startled voice exclaimed, and Lucy realized that there was more than one person present with her. She had fallen into the room, and she turned her head to gaze upon an old woman bringing her blanket up to her chin in surprise as she sat up in her bed.

"Who the _heck_ do you think you are?!" A deep voice boomed, and Lucy jumped and looked to see the man she had run into. He was topless, and his drawers reached his knees—he had obviously been asleep moments before she had barged into their room.

Wait a minute— _their_ room?!

"But I thought—" Lucy exclaimed, and backed out of the room without explaining herself. Her gaze shifted from the boggled eyes of the room she had barged into to her own room.

That's when she realized that she had tried to break down the door of _the wrong room_.

"I am so sorry! I thought this was—I'm so sorry!" Lucy said breathlessly, and started inching back towards her own room. The old man glared at her as she quickly ran into Natsu's room and shut the door behind her, hiding her face behind her hands in embarrassment.

Sighing heavily as the heat in her face died down, Lucy decided she would just get Natsu's things and be content. She hadn't brought anything in her bag worth much of anything, aside from a few hundred jewels.

Lucy slid on Natsu's heavy green bag that had a mat rolled up on the top of it, and picked up Happy in her arms again. She left the hotel, promising the serviceman that she'd be back to pay for the missing keys, and that they could keep her bag as collateral. The man at the desk seemed content with this, and Lucy left without another word.

As she travelled down the streets towards the train-station, Lucy noted that the sky was starting to light up ever so slightly—it was finally morning. Once she got to the station, she purchased a ticket for the earliest train to Magnolia, which departed in thirty minutes, and sat anxiously on the bench. Happy woke for a moment only to get on the train once it arrived, and Lucy could not help but lean against the window of the train and gaze emptily at the passing scenery. She didn't want to sleep—she wouldn't allow herself to. Natsu was being held at the mercy of… some type of organization. Was it a dark guild? A gang? Whatever it was, it was not anything good, and Lucy found her stomach in knots just thinking about what could be happening to her friend.

And even as she let her heavy eye-lids drift shut, she could not help but wonder if Natsu was awake.

* * *

" _AAAAAAAAaaaahhh!_ "

"C'mon, boy! All yee've gots to do is yell _mercy_!"

"…"

"Well…?"

"…"

"Hoo-hah! Have it'ch'yer way, Rosy!"

The shackles on his hands and feet trembled, and his sweat glistened a golden color from the torches hanging on the wall. Natsu's olive eyes peered out from underneath the pink locks of hair that hung in his face. His exhausted body breathed heavily and raggedly. The chill of the chamber was creeping beneath his skin. His hands were cuffed in thick, box-like shackles that were able to attach together or separate under the will of the wielder of their key. Unlike regular cuffs that could disable one's use of magic, Natsu found that these restraints grew tighter the more he moved in them.

He could no longer feel the tips of his fingers.

His hands hung slightly above his head, his arms at the maximum length of their reach on either side of him, and his feet were shackled together in the same cuffs as his wrists, and were latched to the wall.

Natsu's body convulsed painfully, and his back arched off of the wall as the dark man in front of him strengthened the magic circle that had been stamped onto the fire-mage's face. The magic was black, and Natsu could practically feel it crawling on him with its cold tendrils. With each wave of magic, Natsu's body was wracked in a pain similar to what he had experienced after beating down the man responsible for his recent defeat.

Natsu's eyes widened as the pain grew, and he threw his head back in agony. However, no sound escaped his throat, for he felt the air in his lungs trapped behind some sort of blockage in his esophagus.

"Longest anyone's ever gone without air in this, here, situation yer in is, uh…" the man in front of Natsu paused a moment to think. "Forty-four seconds. Lesee how long yee' can do it."

The man gave a wicked grin, the hair above and around his lips shifting as he did so. His dark brown eyes glittered in sadistic satisfaction, and he propped his feet up lazily on the barrel beside the one he was sitting on, and he leaned on the stone walls. His blue robe was tossed to the ground carelessly, revealing his dirty white T-shirt and ripped jeans. He wore dark brown cowboy boots, which covered his enormous feet. His hands, equally as big, itched at his beer gut and plucked a bug from his arm before flicking it away. His grimy, greasy and shaggy brown hair was cut relatively short and looked as if it had never been washed.

Natsu twisted in silent agony as pain erupted from every cell in his body, and his lungs began to ache. The magic circle on his face grew more profound—grew a darker shade of black. The only sound penetrating the room was the muted thumps of Natsu's clothed back hitting the stone wall behind him in uncontrolled convulsions, and the sharp rattle of the thick chains that held him on the wall.

"Yer at thirty."

But Natsu had not even heard the challenge over the rapid heartbeat and panic in his ears. His eyes started to see spots of random colors again. His lungs screamed for air.

All the while, the man whose namesake was a potato watched without emotion, counting in his head the seconds that went by. He met Natsu's gaze neutrally, and even looked away at some point. Natsu's entire body suddenly stiffened.

His eyes rolled.

His head slumped.

His body went limp.

"A minute. Hmm," The man observing him mused, and the magic circle faded from Natsu's face, as if it had never been there. "Impressive, Rosy."

Natsu had not heard him—he was too busy gasping for air like a fish out of water. He coughed violently, and his body slumped again in exhaustion. He was so drained from the fight that had happened not even two hours ago, that he could not muster up any more strength to even lift his head to look at his persecutor in the eye. His mind was slow and foggy, and he found his thoughts incoherent and odd from the extreme enervation he was experiencing.

He vaguely noted the line of drool that traveled down his chin, but could not find enough strength in his body to wipe it away somehow. His eyes were bloodshot, and his head hung limply, his scarf providing something of a sling to catch his head.

Mind reeling, he found that he could not bring himself to care whether the man who had harmed him was still there, or not—he had never felt so weak in his life.

And as a wave of fatigue suddenly washed over him, and he felt his eyes pulling themselves closed again…

…he could not help but wonder if Lucy was going to sleep right now, too.

He vaguely noticed that his body had hit the ground; his restraints had been unlocked. His body twitched minutely at the cold of the stone floor seeping into his skin.

' _Ecsape_ ,' whispered something in the back of his mind, but he found that he could not gather enough energy to care. Here was his chance—he was free from the magic-disabling cuffs.

And, yet, he did not move. Through his hazy mind, he felt cold metal on his wrists again. The last trails of his thoughts were lost as he felt what little energy he had gathered be sapped away from him once more. Pain mutely stung the back of his head, and he realized he was being lifted by his hair. He was dragged forward, unable to open his eyes, and unable to find the will to do so.

He just wanted to rest.

For what seemed like hours—or what could have been minutes—Natsu was dragged forward on the rugged stone floors of wherever he was.

Vague flashes of a horrible stench seeped into his nose, and distant sounds of screaming drifted half-heartedly in his ears.

His mind slid in and out of consciousness, only becoming more alert by a fraction when he felt himself land hard on the ground—maybe even a surface—again.

There was the sound of metal clanging on metal. A click. Weight on his hands and feet.

And, yet, he felt himself grow lighter.

' _Sleep_ ,' he thought. And his mind was finally starting to ebb away into the sweet darkness of rest.

If not for that, he may have been prepared for what had come next.

" **AaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHH!** "

* * *

 **Me:** ALL ABOARD THE FEELS TRAIN!

I mean-er-Hi, and welcome to this perfectly mentally stable ride through Happy Town. Please keep all tissues-I mean hands and feet inside the ride at all times. Thank you, and enjoy your cry-I mean ride. :)


	6. Chapter 5

_Break Him_

Chapter 5

PrinceyAtNight28

* * *

"Lucy…"

"Not now…"

"Lucy, c'mon; we gotta get off the train."

Lucy forced her heavy eyelids open, rubbing at them and blinking hard as she took in the blue Exceed poking her leg. She turned her eyes to the window by her side, and saw Magnolia, bathing in the afternoon sun, beyond the gate of the train station.

This was it.

Lucy hauled herself to her feet, wincing at her tired muscles and stinging scabs. She picked up Natsu's heavy green backpack, which brought a cold twinge to her heart. She tried to ignore it, and followed Happy off of the train, her eyes squinting in the harsh sunlight of the chilly fall weather. The year was reaching the point of turning the colors of the vegetation to warmer colors, while the air grew colder every day. She acknowledged this by shivering, crossing her arms over her now torn and dirtied pink T-Shirt, and trying to ignore the goosebumps that appeared on her legs, which were only covered by the stained and tattered white jean-shorts she wore. Her shoes were caked with mud and grime, and her hair— _oh_ , her hair—was dirty and greasy and tangled.

She just wanted a shower and a few more hours of sleep.

Unfortunately, there were more pressing matters to deal with.

"Let's head to the guild; c'mon, Happy," She said, and drew her feet along the cobblestone of Magnolia. She exited the train station with Happy a few steps behind her, his tail dragging on the ground behind him, and his ears limp against his head. His gaze was on the ground, his eyes foggy with exhaustion—he still had not recovered from using so much of his magic, or the all-nighter his team had went through.

They ignored the startled looks they got, and waved off concerned citizens that recognized them; they had to get to the guild. With each step, Lucy's heart pounded harder and faster. What would the guild think? How was she even going to tell them? Would she be ridiculed for leaving a member of her team behind?

Lucy's eyes started to gather tears again against her will, and she clenched her fist.

No.

No more crying.

She needed to be strong.

The blonde took a deep breath, and continued her trek to the guild hall. Minutes later found her in front of the grand wooden doors of the guild hall. It was a little after noon—the building would probably be packed. She needed to act calm until she found someone who she could report to.

Lucy put her hand on the handle, gripping it tight, aware of Happy's gaze behind her.

But who would she tell? Erza? Mirajane? Makarov?

She pulled the door open.

 _How_ would she tell them?

She took a step inside, noting the smell of alcohol and feeling the warmth in the air.

What would they think…?

She raised her eyes—saw that the guild hall was not as packed as she thought it would be. A few heads turned to see who had come in, and their eyes widened when they saw her state.

Tears gathered in Lucy's eyes—so much for not crying. Her lip trembled.

A few guild members got up, waving over someone they knew could help.

Lucy covered her face in shame, and felt the heat start to creep into her cheeks.

"Lucy?" A gruff voice asked, and then sounded again. "Lucy, what's wrong?"

Gray.

The blonde felt her breath hitch, and her tears started running down her cheeks. She needed to compose herself, she needed to—

"They got him!" A voice suddenly burst out from beside her, and Lucy, startled, looked to see Happy with his head turned towards the ceiling, and fat tears streaming down his cheeks. "They got Natsu!"

The guild went silent.

"What?" Gray exclaimed, and his deep blue eyes were intense. He wore a white T-shirt underneath a black jacket, and blue jeans. "What do you mean? Who got Natsu?"

"He was…he was captured," Lucy explained in a voice barely above a whisper, moving her shaking hands away from her face. "The mission—we were outnumbered. More than a thousand. W-we didn't have a chance."

"Natsu saved us," Happy hiccupped, and his paws were covering his eyes as he cried. "I-I just left him there—I just—"

By now, the guild was crowding around the crying duo, and through the mass, Lucy saw Erza step forwards. She turned to the crowd, and glared at them. This was enough to send them scrambling away, save for the immediate friends, such as Wendy, Carla, Juvia, Cana, Laxus, Gajeel, Panther Lilly, and Levy. Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisana, along with Makarov, soon came over when they caught wind of what had happened.

"Lucy, Happy," Erza said, and looked at them each in turn. "What happened?"

And so Lucy told of the woman who had given the request and the forest in which Natsu had tracked Takao's scent to an entrance disguised as a tree. She told of the long and complicated tunnels, and the giant room that rivaled the size of the stadium that had held the Grand Magic Games. She explained the thousands of people they had found gathered in that room, and the different magic she had witnessed. At the mention of drain magic, something in Erza and Makarov's face shifted into something darker. She told of Natsu's struggle with the drain magic, and the opening he created for her and Happy to escape. Beyond that, she had no idea what had become of him, and that they had been too weak to go back in.

"We-we thought maybe we could… g-get some backup," She hiccupped, and desperately tried to pull herself back together.

"Did you happen to catch the name of the people who caught him?" Erza asked, and Lucy wanted to faint at the extreme calm in her voice—the kind of calm that hid incomprehensible rage.

"N-no," Lucy sputtered.

"They-they all had on a blue robe," Happy said, sniffing and wiping away his tears. By now, Panther Lilly and Carla came to stand by him and each put a paw on his shoulder.

"Hmm," Makarov thought, and put a finger to his chin, his grey eyebrows furrowing. He suddenly clenched his fists, and Lucy saw his neck tense and a vein in his forehead become more profound. "It doesn't matter _who_ did this," He growled, and his gaze would kill, if looks could, "they hurt our family."

With that, Makarov turned his back to Lucy, and faced the group that had gathered behind him.

"Whoever these people are, they will be sorry! They've hurt a child of mine, and a brother of yours! Natsu has done so much for us—I'd say it's about time we return the favor! Prepare yourselves, for we are going to go to this place that they are holding Natsu, and take him back into our arms, where he belongs!" Makarov announced, and his eyes were wide, filled with determined rage. " _They will rue the day they made the mistake of making an enemy of Fairy Tail!"_

Lucy found her tears stopping and her resolve hardening. A fire started to burn in her stomach, and she clenched her fists. Her guild members seemed to be reacting the same way.

"Pack your bags, my children! We're going to leave on the next train, and take back what's rightfully ours!"

The entire guild suddenly exploded in hoots and hollers, throwing up their fists, some holding up their index finger in respects to their Master's speech.

The short old man turned back to Lucy, his eyes glaring, but not at her. "Don't worry," he ground out, "We'll be sure to pay them back a hundredfold for what they've done."

And with that, Makarov marched away, and Lucy was left standing beside Happy underneath the gaze of their fellow guild members. Mirajane suddenly stepped forward, and pulled Lucy into a much-needed hug.

"We'll get him back," The white-haired woman said once Lucy had embraced her, "Natsu's tough; he may even be bashing their heads in as we speak."

Lucy felt a small smile tug at her lips at the thought, and pulled away from Mirajane. "Yeah…Maybe."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they already let him go so they wouldn't have to hear him talk anymore," Gajeel smirked.

Lucy laughed a little at this.

And she could not help but feel a little better.

* * *

Water was dripping somewhere…

Water was dripping somewhere cold; somewhere dark.

It smelled of blood, and another horrible stench that could only be described as a rotting carcass.

Contributing to the smell hung a figure from a wall, shackled by his hands and feet. He hung limply, his body twitching ever so slightly as he started to wake.

Natsu groaned as he struggled to open his eyes. He tried to move his hands to rub at them, but was only rewarded by the restraints he was held in squeezing tighter on his arms. He hoped he imagined the slight trace of sharp metal that had poked his skin when the shackles tightened.

"Wha…" He slurred, and his voice was raspy and barely above a whisper. He peeled his eyelids open, blinking furiously to prompt fluid to his painfully dry eyes. How long had he been asleep? He licked his lips, but paused mid-lick as he caught the taste of blood.

His blood…? Why did he—?

Oh.

Now he felt it—his face started to sting, as if it had suddenly remembered its wounds. His face had been bleeding.

The rest of his body followed suit—his _whole body_ had been bleeding.

And why was he hurting so badly…? Why was he so sore?

Is that why he had woken up? Is that why he still felt so tired?

Unable to recall any reason as to why he was in pain, Natsu turned his bleary eyes ahead of him, and felt his chest tighten in fear. His olive eyes took in the metal bars that stood eight feet away from him, and the stone walls and floors that surrounded him. Unlike the clean-cut bricks of stone that had been used in that giant room or the other tunnels belonging to the people that had captured him, the rock here was rugged and sharp in some places, while the metal bars he was held behind seemed to be forced into the stone. Beyond the bars of his cell stood another stone wall, and Natsu realized that he was on the side of a tunnel that had been carved into the rock around him. Dimly illuminating what Natsu could see was a torch hanging on the wall just outside his cell, taunting him with his inability to reach it.

More alert now, Natsu looked down to take in the state of his body, and realized that his clothes were gone, save for his boxers. His scarf— _where was his scarf_?

"What the—What's the big idea?!" He exclaimed, and suddenly went into a coughing fit, his chest rumbling with each hack. His throat was raw—had he been screaming?

But his thoughts halted when he saw what had become of him.

His body… had been carved.

Angry red marks adorned the dragon-slayer from head to toe—as if someone had simply painted red stripes on him. With a knife. Some were as small as a paper cut, but others—like the ones on each arm and leg—were inches wide, and stretching from his shoulder to his elbow; from his thigh to his knees. It looked as if he had literally been through a wood chipper. He knew that, even if he were free, he would have had trouble even moving. He was appalled by the state his body was in, and suddenly knew—

Someone had _done this_ to him. His throat was raw because he had probably been awake during—

And, suddenly, shards of memories pierced his mind like the blade that had pierced his body.

Strapped down. A knife penetrating his skin and slowly cutting through his flesh. Blood. Sweat. Laughter. Screaming. Darkness. Dim lighting. A terrible smell. Pain. So much _pain_. Mercy.

 _Mercy_.

"What…? Did I…?" He sputtered, his eyes wide in confusion. Had he yelled mercy? Had he given Spud—he still smirked at the name—what he'd wanted?

Then he remembered a frustrated growl, and being knocked out.

His temple throbbed painfully as he recalled this, and Natsu figured that he had not pled for mercy. He also figured that this was the reason a majority of his face was caked in blood.

Awesome. Just what he'd needed—a possible concussion.

On a separate note, there was no way was he giving that… _sadist_ what he wanted. Natsu would never beg him for mercy. Spud. What a dumb name.

' _Potatoes_ ,' He thought, and was reminded of his empty belly.

His next thought was that of food, which resulted in a rumbling stomach, and he cursed himself for not eating more back at the hotel in Lucy's room.

Lucy.

He hoped she had made it out alright. He hadn't been able to stay awake long enough to see if she and Happy had escaped in time. Natsu felt rage swirl in his stomach as he imagined what would have happened, had Lucy been caught, too. He just had to trust that Happy had gotten to her in time.

"Okay," he said to himself, and his voice echoed throughout the cave, "how do I get out of here…?"

Natsu's keen eyes took in every crack and crevice in the cell he was in, and he studied the bars that separated him from the outside. The bars did not appear to have a doorway, or a keyhole, and Natsu experienced a brief sense of déjà vu.

Something about a butt gang, or something.

Eh, who knew?

He turned his attention back to the situation at hand, and he glared hard at the ground in thought. He very slowly and very carefully tried rotating his wrists to see how much movement he could get, but quickly found that his restraints tightened with _any_ movement he made that would somehow move his wrists or ankles. The metal studs he had faintly felt earlier now dug annoyingly into his skin within the shackles. The chain the restraints were connected to ran far above his head, connected to the top of the ten-foot rock wall. From there, the metal cuffs around his wrists looked to be latched onto something in the wall, and Natsu figured that this was a backup incase the chains holding him up broke, leaving him to hold himself up, or tear his arms out of their sockets by just hanging there. His feet were simply attached to the wall, encased in what he could only describe as a metal box.

Whatever the restraints were made of, they also had something in them that disabled his magic—or, rather, _drained_ it. This left Natsu unable to regain his magical energy, and in a constant state of fatigue.

"Crap," He breathed, and winced when he felt a sharp pain on his back. Although he could not see it, Natsu felt the soreness of the many cuts on his bare backside every time he breathed and he rubbed against the sharp, jagged wall.

He really _was_ trapped. He'd have to wait for an opening of some sort. Which meant he would have to hold still.

Which meant he could not move.

Which meant he would be _bored_.

His stomach growled again, and his throat did soon after in frustration.

What were the chances of someone else being down here? Someone that could, maybe, help him get out? Or—more importantly—get him something to eat?

' _Only one way to find out…_ ' He thought, and took a deep breath.

"Hey!" He boomed, and ignored the pain that tore through his throat. "Anyone down here?!"

He held his breath, straining his extremely sensitive ears in order to pick up any sort of noise that was not the sound of dripping water.

Natsu did not hear anything.

Was he really the only one down here?

Where even _was_ he…?

This place smelled a little different from the tunnels he had run through with Lucy—while those had had a thick, rancid stench, these passageways were even _thicker_. It was almost suffocating—a smell he could only compare to human waste and rotting flesh.

On top of that, he was trying to suppress a shiver from the intense chill that crawled across his skin. Natsu supposed that the cold had something to do with being so far underground, as well as the frigid weather that was quickly approaching the season.

Dirty, bloody, cold, tired, and hungry, Natsu hung his head and sighed.

How was he even going to find Takao? There was no way he could look for him, locked to the wall. The dragon-slayer closed his eyes, and took a deep breath through his nose. He coughed at the intense smell that assaulted his nostrils, and his eyes started to water. It was hopeless—he could not get past the horrible stench.

And, to make matters worse, Natsu had to use the bathroom.

Like, now.

Natsu felt a growl escape his throat again, and he raised a lip in annoyance, revealing his abnormally sharp teeth. What was he supposed to do—soil himself?

…

"No way! _Hey_! _Somebody come down here_!" He hollered, much to his throat's protest. He gave a few more wet coughs, and squirmed as much as he could in his restrained state.

A few more minutes of silence passed, and Natsu found his bladder growing more and more impatient.

"Crap," He hissed, and ground his teeth together.

Half an hour passed…

An hour…

Two hours…

Throughout this time, Natsu let himself doze half-heartedly, trying to get his mind off of his about-to-be-overflowing tank.

And, finally, at the three hour mark, Natsu could not hold it anymore. He hit the back of his head against the stone wall in aggravation, wincing when his already tender skull throbbed in protest. He growled in aggravation, and felt heat rise to his cheeks.

He could _not_ believe this.

The sensation of liquid running down his legs made him shiver and groan in disgust, and he clenched his teeth together in embarrassment.

When he had finished, the warm, sticky, wet fabric of his trousers clung to his skin, and the smell of urine drifted into his nose. The waste burned as it traveled down his legs, seeping into his wounds and causing him to wince in pain.

Bad idea.

The sudden movement of his legs caused his restraints to constrict painfully, and he felt something sharp begin to dig into his skin, and Natsu wanted to yell in frustration.

And yell he did.

" _Rrraaaah! This suuuuucks!_ "

He breathed heavily for a moment after his outburst, uncaring as to whether anyone had heard him that time.

So now he was tired, cold, hungry, bloody, dirty _and_ covered in pee.

 _Great._

* * *

Lucy opened her eyes to see Mirajane gently prodding her awake.

"Hm?"

"We're here, Lucy," The takeover mage said softly, and gestured to the train station out of the nearby window.

"Right," She muttered, and began to stretch and rub at her eyes. They had arrived back at the town in which she and Happy had earlier been so desperate to leave. The sounds of her guild mates shuffling about the train and grabbing their backpacks and duffel bags filled her ears, and she watched as they filed in a line in the isle of the cart to step off of the train. Happy was missing from his seat beside her, and Lucy figured that he had already gone in search of Carla. Almost half of the guild had come in search of their fellow friend—it was touching. Lucy almost allowed tears to gather in her eyes again, but swallowed hard and smiled, instead.

They were going to get Natsu back.

She grabbed Natsu's backpack—hers was still at that hotel—and stepped into the line of guild members. Behind her, Levy gave her a consoling pat on the shoulder, and Lucy turned to give her a small smile.

They exited the train, some laughing as Erza snapped at Gajeel and Gray for picking a fight with each other, although Gajeel still seemed sick from the train ride. Come to think of it, Wendy did too. When someone questioned Laxus about it, who looked a little pale, he glared and bared his teeth threateningly.

"Alright, listen up!" A gravelly voice commanded, once everyone had left the train. "We're going straight to the forest Natsu was last seen. The plan is to infiltrate the base of this operation, and get Natsu back."

"We will be splitting up into two teams," Erza said, and her voice was laced in unquestionable authority. "Lucy, Wendy, Gajeel, Gray and I will search the base stealthily until we find Natsu. The rest of you," Her eyes grew dark, "Make sure these fiends never cross Fairy Tail ever again."

There were hoots and hollers, and Lucy felt herself smirking in confidence. That meant that powerhouses like Mirajane, Laxus, and Makarov were going to fight the entirety of their enemies.

Erza turned to Lucy, "Lead the way."

And Lucy strode forward, with Happy suddenly by her side.

They would ignore the baffled looks of the citizens as they balked at the mass of over twenty mages marching through the city. The people whispered and muttered of the unmistakable Fairy Tail mark the wizards bore, and how their city may be flattened by the morrow.

Half an hour of traveling brought the group to the hotel Lucy had stayed in, and was she was finally given back her bag after the terrified bellboy beheld the sight of Lucy's comrades. Gray offered to slip on Natsu's backpack for the remainder of the trek, though he immediately complained about its weight and stench.

They soon came to the dreaded forest Lucy had escaped, and she gazed into it for a moment, underneath the light of the late afternoon sun. The sky was tinted with orange, and Lucy guessed it was five or six in the afternoon. She took a deep breath, and stepped onto the dirt path that wound through the forest, listening to the crunch of dirt and rocks as her friends marched behind her.

And then a thought stuck her.

Natsu had lead her through the forest—he had known when to turn off of the path and the way to the guild. She did not have a dragon-slayer's nose. She did not know the exact path. She stopped, and so did her guild mates.

"Uh…" She sputtered, and turned to face them. They looked at her expectantly, and she gulped. "I don't…really remember how to get there."

"Oh, that's okay, Lucy," Wendy chirped, "Gajeel, Laxus and I can just track his scent! Right guys?"

She met the eyes of the Iron and Lightening dragon slayers, who, begrudgingly, nodded their heads, and moved towards the front of the group.

"Yeah, he was definitely here," Gajeel's deep, rumbling voice said, and he took a deeper breath through his nose. "This way."

And so the group now followed the dragon slayers, and all three, no matter how reluctant, felt a tug in their chest. They were not marching just for one of their guild members, but for a kind of their own—their fellow dragon slayer.

Lucy felt her confidence return as Erza and Gray walked beside her, and her eyes hardened in determination.

They'd find Natsu. And when they did, well…

Lucy was almost sorry for what was going to happen to this dark organization.

 _Almost_.

* * *

 **Me:** Thanks for reading! Happy Thanksgiving!


	7. Chapter 6

_Break Him_

Chapter 6

PrinceyAtNight28

* * *

Natsu jolted awake to hear sharp clicks sounding on the stone floor. He had fallen asleep shortly after urinating himself, too bored and humiliated to do anything else. His mouth was dry, and his stomach gnawed hungrily at his insides. His body still ached, and his cuts still stung with a vengeance—especially the ones on his legs. His bare body still trembled from his lack of clothing due to the chill of the dungeon he still hung in. His legs were beginning go numb from the coldness—Natsu guessed it was at least just above thirty-five degrees in this stone prison.

The clicking on the floor was fast-paced, and Natsu recognized them as footsteps—multiple footsteps.

Someone was finally down here?

His heart leapt hopefully—was he being rescued? He took a deep smell through his nose, but could only cough painfully as that rancid stench assaulted his senses.

"Hello?" Natsu bellowed, and his voice echoed as the footsteps grew closer. He was going to be rescued! There was no other way to explain the numerous footsteps—it _had_ to be them! He found himself grinning, and he announced his presence once more.

And then a shriek tore through the air. It echoed hauntingly through the tunnels.

Natsu froze. He listened hard.

"No! Please! I-I did nothing wrong, I— _No!_ " Another scream sounded, before being abruptly cut short by a loud _bang_ that made Natsu's ears ring.

His soaring heart plummeted. What was going on?

And then, a group of figures came charging past his cell.

"Hey!" Natsu bellowed, and his eyes were intense.

Some of them stopped, and Natsu recognized them to be the same people he had fought against—only, some of them had their blue hoods off of their heads, and guns in their hands.

"What's goin' on?! Let me outta here!" He growled, and almost lurched forward, if not for the threat of his restraints tightening.

The figures just glared and resumed running.

Natsu growled in frustration as many more cloaked figures rushed by, trying to catch snippets of their conversations. A few people in shackles were pulled along with the group, and they were as bare and beaten as Natsu was.

Something in Natsu's chest burned.

Men, women and children were being kept here like he was.

But before he could voice his anger, someone started to speak to him.

"Heya, Rosy."

Natsu shifted his eyes to see Spud, his arms crossed and an arrogant grin on his face. His cloak was slung over his shoulder. A hooded figure stood patiently next to him.

"What's going on?! Let me go!" Natsu demanded, his nose wrinkling as he snarled.

Spud snorted, "Like we's gon' do that," and he suddenly _stepped through_ the iron bars of Natsu's cell. They rippled just as the tree at the entrance to the base had, before shivering back into their original form.

"Well," He continued, "Techni-al-ic-ly, I's gon undo yer chains, then we's gon' haul your hide to our ride, heh." Even as he said this, Spud stepped up to Natsu and started to fiddle with his restraints. "Now, yee can do this the easy way, or the hard 'en. Make a wrong move, and yee won't be up to enjoy the ride," He threatened, his eyes hard and his expression neutral.

Natsu, for once, held his tongue. He'd wait for his chance.

Once Spud had finished messing with Natsu's restraints, he made a few hand movements, and a magic circle appeared, and his shackles were unlocked. Natsu fell hard to the ground, grunting, and winced when his wounds ached and stung in protest.

When Spud leaned down, probably to haul him to his feet, Natsu made his move.

He sprang into action, pushing hard with his limbs, and ramming the back of his skull into Spud's face. While the man shouted in pain, Natsu, on one knee, punched him hard in his exposed stomach. The tan man doubled over, and Natsu, on his feet, now, brought his hands down and roughly rammed the man's head into his knee. He threw Spud aside, and made for the bars of the cell, ignoring the figure that stood impassively outside of them. The bars were just a hologram, so he knew he could phase right through them.

So he was surprised when his body collided with them with a loud, ringing _tang_.

"Wha—?!"

But his exclamation was cut off by a shout when pain erupted in his body. He fell hard to his knees.

"That—agh—that smarts…" Natsu heard Spud hiss through what must have been his own hand covering his mouth.

There were black markings on Natsu's face again. Spud was using his magic…Natsu felt his heart skip a beat.

' _Drain magic!'_

Natsu had just had a smack down with the one man he knew he could not touch.

Natsu could not find it in himself to hold back his screams. Pain ignited in every fiber of his being—his lungs, eyes, and mouth burned, his bones ached in a crushing way, his skin felt as if it would tear off of his body any moment. He buried his face into the rock ground, voicing his pain but not willingly. It was not a type of pain that he could just grit his teeth through.

It was _torture_.

Natsu felt tears well up in his eyes from the burning in them—he would not give them the satisfaction of crying in front of them. How cowardly. His eyes widened—his pupils became slits. Veins became more prominent beneath the surface of his skin as they bulged and strained against the intense spasms that wracked Natsu's body. Saliva flew from his mouth as he screamed, some catching in his throat and causing him to go a moment without air as he hacked it up. Through the sound of his own screaming, Natsu heard Spud clearly.

"Y'see, Rosy," He drawled, a hand still cradling his own nose, "Mah magic gits stronger if I done put a Tag on yee'." The man was then leaning down and whispering into Natsu's ear, "I own you."

Natsu could not find the strength to ram his head back into Spud's arrogant face. He continued to yell and writhe painfully, unable to regain control of his panicking body.

At some point, the pyromaniac was lifted by his hair, chained in restraints heavy enough to break bones, and dragged through the tunnels of the cave. In what order, he could not remember. Some of his cuts had opened up again, and blood dripped down his body and left streaks on the floor of the cavern. He could not find it in himself to care. Pain continued to course throughout his body. He could not form a coherent thought. There was only agony.

Somewhere along the way, Natsu lost consciousness.

* * *

"This is it!" Lucy exclaimed, smiling in satisfaction as her hand _finally_ phased through the right tree. It had taken almost an hour and a half, but the dragon-slayers finally narrowed down the general area of where she, Happy and Natsu had gone.

"Alright," Erza said, pulling out unlit torches from her extremely large travel pack as she came to stand beside Lucy, "Everyone, stay with your group—do not travel in this place alone. Let's go."

They traveled the same route Lucy and Happy had the last time they were here, and the dragon slayers quickly lost Natsu's scent through the same rancid smell that had previously thrown the missing boy off.

The large group split up after Lucy pointed the way to the massive space she had previously fought in and retreated from. Somehow, Gajeel managed to pick up a faint trace of Natsu's scent—almost even brushed it off as imagination—but once Lucy's team followed the lead, Wendy had caught a whiff of the boy, as well.

As they walked the down the pitch black tunnels, using one of the torches Erza had provided that Levy had previously lit, they listened hard in the eerily quiet place.

And then they passed a cell.

Wendy had been the first to see it—she had not meant to scream, the sound escaped her mouth without her permission. There in the cell laid a marred and mangled body. The skull was crumpled like paper, the limbs either missing or connected at odd angles. Gray was quick to cover the girl's eyes while Carla and Happy ushered her away, and Lucy averted her eyes. Gajeel peered through the metal bars of the cell, gingerly touching the cold, rusted surface. He then proceeded to lick them.

"These aren't completely metal," Gajeel stated, creasing his studded eyebrows. "There's magic in these things."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, clenching the strap on her backpack uncomfortably.

"I don't really know," The black-haired man shook his head, "Just…somethin' about these don't taste right."

"Let's keep going—we've no time to waste," Erza said, and continued walking.

"W-wait, what about this person?" Wendy asked, "What if there're others?"

"Should we happen to come across anyone that is alive, we will aid them," Erza explained, her metallic boots clicking on the stone floor as she walked. "However, I… I doubt there will be many."

The others said nothing and resumed forwards.

Dozens of cells lined along the wall turned into hundreds, each holding the same thing—a deceased body or none at all. They followed Gajeel and Wendy's noses to a doorway carved into the side of the cavern.

"Salamander was definitely here—he was for a while," Gajeel said, and his studded eyebrows furrowed.

The small room they had entered bore only restraints that currently held nothing, and a barrel. It went without saying that Natsu had been in those chains.

Lucy tried not to think about what those cuffs prevented Natsu from defending himself against.

After finding nothing useful, the team moved on, carefully listening for the sound of anything that could give them a lead to find their friend. After ten more minutes of following Gajeel and Wendy's noses and taking countless turns, they found that the air grew colder with every step that took them deeper into the earth.

Lucy was about to comment on the long passage until Wendy cried out in alarm.

"Natsu!" She exclaimed, and suddenly ran inside another doorway that led into a room. Lucy's heart skipped a beat—had they really found him?

"Wendy, wait, that's not—!" Gajeel tried to warn, but growled and darted after the girl. As their team followed the two dragon slayers, their voices echoed throughout the tunnels that were no bigger than a doorway.

"He's hurt!" Wendy was saying, but Gajeel was trying to grab her arm.

"Wendy, no—!"

But it was too late.

There was a gasp, and Lucy stopped just in time in order not to run into an abruptly stopped Gajeel. He moved, as if there was suddenly weight on him, and Lucy realized Wendy was burying her face into his shirt. Lucy drew a breath and peered over Gajeel's shoulder.

That breath was trapped in her throat. Her eyes widened.

The tunnel they had run into led to a room. It was stone, just like all the others; it was carved into the earth. There was a table—a table with shackles and something that looked like it was made to keep a human head still. There were tools—a mallet, a screwdriver, knives, a saw, so much more. There were chunks of something on the table and around it on the floor. But that's not what made them all halt—no—they were staring at something coating everything around them. Everything was red.

Everything was covered in blood.

"What is it?" Gray demanded, readjusting the torch he was holding after seeing the front four's reaction, and tried to look around Erza to get a glimpse at what was stunning them all. Happy and Carla silently hovered over Gray's head, their pupils shrinking and their mouths agape.

Gajeel turned around, demanding Lucy's terrified eyes.

"He was here, but now he isn't. Wendy smelled his blood, that was all. Some kinda torture room, I think; there's even a head or two in the corner over there. Turn around, there's nothing else here."

The others paused for a second, and slowly started shuffling backwards out of the tunnel. Lucy heard Wendy sniffing and imagined her wiping at her face.

"I'm so sorry; I thought—"

"Don't. You couldn't have known what was in there," Gajeel cut her off, and Lucy was surprised at how gentle he sounded, even if his voice rumbled like thunder. They came back into the slightly wider area of the tunnel that branched off into the smaller ones, and Gajeel proceeded to sniff around until he suddenly stopped and turned his head, staring for a second before suddenly taking off.

"Gajeel, what did you smell?" Erza asked, and the group gave chase to the iron dragon slayer.

"He was here a few hours ago—he scent is really strong in this direction," Gajeel explained, and swung his head in different directions, trying to pinpoint their friend with all he had, his pierced nose twitching as he inhaled through it. "This way."

And so they continued their trek, jogging as quickly as they could without letting the scent pass them by.

"This is it—this is definitely his cell," Gajeel suddenly said, and the team peered through the bars, their eyebrows furrowing when they saw the empty shackles and bloody streaks on the wall where his body must have been hanging. There were splashes of blood splattered on the ground, as well. Gajeel did not mention the other smell that hit his nose—he could smell Natsu's blood _and_ urine from two turns back, even with the terrible stench-borderline-fog that tortured his nose.

"Well, where is he now? There's no one else alive down here—and some of those people back there looked like they were killed just a little while ago," Gray said without tearing his eyes from the cell.

"We must have just missed 'em," Gajeel replied, and took a deep breath again, taking a few steps in different directions and repeating the process. Wendy started to search too, and she was the one to find another tunnel—one that smelled of many people all at once, with blood and grime and remains of unidentifiable things smeared and stomped onto the ground.

"What… happened in here…?" Happy said after a moment, his wings beating softly as he glanced around.

Erza, who had been relatively quiet the entire time, finally spoke with words that made them start.

"They relocated."

"What?" Lucy exclaimed. "Why? They couldn't have known we were coming!"

Erza shook her head, "They took all that were able and moved them somewhere else—they knew they were about to be found out. We should hurry—it doesn't look like they left that long ago."

"Right."

"This way," Gajeel said.

"We'll follow these paths all night if we had to—we won't stop until we take back what was stolen from us," Erza growled, and her eyes were shining in enraged determination.

With a nod of agreement, the team turned and started following Wendy and Gajeel again through the bloody, grimy, disgusting tunnel.

' _Please, Natsu_ ,' Lucy thought, ' _Please be okay_.'

It's such a shame that her prayer must not have been heard.

* * *

Natsu did not want to move. He was perfectly content lying on his back.

His entire body felt as if it weighed more than a ton—perhaps even two; he could not move even if he had wanted to. Even his eyelids felt like weights; even his breathing seemed impossible until he found himself drawing a breath. There was a cold surface underneath him—the smell of it reminded him of the woods. Wood. Duh.

He found himself smirking at his own brief stupidity, which turned into a giggle that bubbled out of his mouth.

Wood.

Pain slammed into his head, and his smile shattered in an instant. Why was he hurting? What had happened?

The questions in his head were lost, however, as his stomach suddenly grew extremely nauseous. He felt the wood underneath him sway, and, through his clouded brain, realized—he was moving. He was on a form of transportation.

His stomach gave another toss, and a groan worked its way from his throat. He heard a voice, but it sounded as if it were coming from underwater.

"Swim closer," he said—or, at least, tried to—it came out slurred and distorted from his mouth.

He chuckled again. What a funny sound.

Pain erupted from his side, and he yelped. His eyes finally forced themselves open—he suddenly wished they hadn't. The world was tilting—no, the world was _swirling_. Browns and oranges and yellows melded together and warped into odd images and strange shapes. Natsu's stomach was having none of it.

He heard the gurgle and sucking noise of his insides before he felt them shoot up his throat and into his mouth. He tried to cough up the substance, or even turn his head to let the liquid flow out of his mouth, but he _couldn't move_. He started choking, his body instinctively trying to inhale after he'd puked. He felt a warm hand roughly turn his head to the side, and he hacked and spat, all the while gasping for air. He shuddered when he was finished retching, and his head grew extremely dizzy, pounding harder, now, but his ears were starting to clear up.

"…dose you gave him may have been too strong. He is completely disoriented," a neutral voice said in the most monotonous tone Natsu had ever heard.

"Bah, he gon' be just fine," A gruff, southern drawl scolded. "He's pro'lly just needin' some water. Don' remember feedin' 'eem earlier, either."

Natsu was hearing, but he was not listening. His stomach was stirring painfully, and his head was pounding with a vengeance. Somehow, though, he found his anchored body start to lift—he started to feel himself floating.

What a strange sensation.

Through the aching pain that thrummed through his entire body, there was a tickle in his chest—a lightness. Was he flying? Maybe. That'd be cool.

His body jolted when a hand grabbed his shoulder and hauled him in direction—it could have been upwards or along the floor. He was too dizzy to care.

"…hear me, boy?"

Natsu blinked his eyes a good fifteen times before he made out a blob of a face in his vision.

"'Ey, Rosy. Look'a me. There yee' go. Right here," The face was saying, and two fingers came to point at the blurry face's eyes.

All in all, it just ended up looking similar to the face having three noses. Natsu giggled.

"Well… Maybe it was a lil' much," The face said. Natsu's shoulder was released and he just slowly fell forward like a deflating balloon. Oh. So he _had_ been sitting up. "…some water, will yee'? Thanks."

Natsu was straightened up by a hand again, and something was abruptly at his lips. Something cold and crisp met his tongue. Water. Natsu's mind was clear enough to at least register that he was most likely severely dehydrated and that he needed that drink. Now.

Natsu gulped greedily from the cup, his hazy vision swimming all the while and making him tip to the side if not for that hand again. That good ole hand.

The cup was pulled away, and the hand that was supporting him left. He fell backwards from his sitting position and landed on the floor with a _thump_.

He grimaced. "…Bad hand…" He muttered.

The ceiling above him started to swirl again, but this time it faded to black. He was falling asleep again.

"…and once we git to the North we's just gon' hafta dress 'im real…nice. We'll sell 'is clo'es. That scarf ought'ta gitcha some dough. It was real nice…"

Natsu found himself growling, but he was gone before that voice could even hear him.

However, a while later, Spud would find himself glancing at the pink-haired boy when the word ' _Igneel_ ' was abruptly whispered. His skin would start to crawl. Spud would shiver, and blame it on the winter air blowing through the open porthole of the ship.

* * *

 **Me:** Goodnigh, guys :) Sorry for the wait, but the next part should be out soon.


	8. Chapter 7

_Break Him_

Chapter 7

PrinceyAtNight28

* * *

"They're gone."

Erza's voice was monotonous as she spoke. Her eyes were downcast, covered by the shadow of her beautiful red hair and the pitch black night around her.

"We followed their trail to the port, and, after talking to some locals, they told us that some people had stolen three ships, loaded thousands of people on them, and were gone within minutes. No one could stop them—there were way too many. The ones that stayed behind to defend the boats ran as soon as they were far enough off shore. It all went down about four hours ago," Gray said, "We were too late."

Makarov bowed his head, his fists clenched and his teeth gritting hard behind his lips. The group of wizards behind him was silent and most had their heads down or a hand over their mouths.

"That explains why we didn't see a single person in there," Cana said. The stone tunnels and gargantuan rooms held nothing but the smell of smoke and that horrendous stench. Not even the tables and chairs Lucy had described had been there. Nothing was left.

Except, of course, for all of the bodies lying around in their cells.

"Wh—…What do we do, now…?" Mirajane asked from her place beside Makarov and her brother, Elfman.

"We keep going," Makarov said, and his eyes met those of Lucy's, which were filled with tears. "We won't stop until Natsu is back with us; we all know that he'd do the same for us. You five," Makarov gestured to Lucy, Erza, Gray, Gajeel and Wendy, "will continue searching for our comrade. We will keep in touch through a communication lacrima, and you will be supplied all the things you may need for this journey."

As he explained this, many of the Fairy Tail wizards began shuffling through their bags and pulling out various items and amounts of money to give to their friends. They had hard determination in their eyes that pierced through the dark of the night.

"I'm going."

"Same, here."

The team of five looked to see Juvia and Levy stepping forward. Makarov nodded his head, but declared that any more than seven wizards could jeopardize their mission.

"When you find where Natsu is, wait, if you can. We'll be there as fast as we can to provide assistance," The guild master instructed.

"Yeah, plus I want to give 'em a piece of my mind! I'll show them what a _real_ man can do!" Eflman growled, and punched his fist into the palm of his other hand.

A roar of agreement sounded with him, and the team of seven (plus the three Exceeds) found a determined and thankful smile on their faces.

Over the onslaught of voices, Makarov met eyes with each of them in turn and gave them a respectful bow of the head, to which they all returned. "Bring back our dragon."

* * *

Natsu was starving—and not the usual way he would moan and groan about after two hours without a meal, no; he was _literally_ starving. He did not know how long it had been since his last meal, but he still did not think he could hold anything down, anyways.

Being seasick was the _worst_.

The pink-headed mage had woken up some time ago with a skull-crushing headache and the taste of something foul in his mouth. He was shackled to the wall in those cursed magical restraints, again, and blood was already dripping down his arms from the metal pegs that dug into his wrists.

But, this time, he wasn't alone.

He was in a room—the size of his little house, maybe—chained to the wall in between two other men that were much older than him. They had what looked to be normal restraints on them. They had introduced themselves as Tim and Paulo, the latter bearing a thick accent that Natsu had never heard. He had tried conversing with them, but his mind was slow and scattered for some reason, and he had had trouble following their conversation.

"You okay, _señor_? You are looking green in the face," Paulo said for the fourth time, nudging the mage with his shackled hand. Unlike Natsu, their hands were not locked to the wall above their heads, and their feet were not bound together, but in separate cuffs on their ankles connected by a chain. Another chain connected the ones on their ankles and wrists to a hook behind them on the floor. This applied to the forty-something other people in the room with him. Some spoke in low whispers, and would all go silent when a figure wearing a blue cloak would peer into the room and continue their trek down the hall.

Natsu tried to reply, but he was interrupted by bile shooting up his throat, again. With no way to move his head more than a couple of inches, the vomit landed on his own naked body and seeped into places that _body waste did not belong in_. He had awakened to wearing nothing but the chains pinning his ankles to the floor and his wrists to the wooden planks behind him. He had _also_ awakened to see that most of the other people in the room did not have any clothes, either. When he had managed to ask the two men beside him why, they had told him that the Hoods had taken them to sell.

"To sell?!" Natsu had exclaimed.

" _Sí, compadre,_ " The dark-skinned, dark-haired man had replied, "Heard they needed some money, _pronto_."

And that had been the moment when Natsu had tried breaking out of his restraints and wound up damaging his hands.

Now, though, with nothing on his stomach and too much on his mind, Natsu was silent. He was told that they had been on the boat for a little over a day—of which Natsu had slept through—and he was still exhausted. His bleary eyes gazed upon the other people in the room. The only ones wearing clothes were children—but even they only wore underwear—by some sort of sick attempt at modesty. Natsu met some of their stares, briefly, before they looked away in what could have only been embarrassment for their lack of clothing as well as his own. At least they could draw up their knees and cover most of their body.

Natsu did not have such a luxury.

Now that he looked more closely, however, he saw that all of them had scars and bruises and cuts. A couple of them were missing limbs; some were missing an eye, an ear, a finger. But they all had a peculiar similarity—their faces. Angry red cuts that looked less jagged and more precise drew a stark circle with lines in it on their foreheads. A magic circle. Some of the brandings were more harshly engraved in their faces than others, though, and Natsu realized that it was because the circle was scarred onto their faces; a permanent mark given to them by the hooded people. Though he could not tell with all of the pain in his face, the inability to touch his face, and the inability to see his own face, Natsu wondered if he had one, himself.

The large noise of the door slamming open made Natsu jolt, and his restraints tightened with an audible _click-ck_ noise that had him hissing through his teeth. He felt the stinging of his wrists and ankles before he felt blood flow a little heavier down his arms and begin trickling slowly from his ankles. A glance at his toes found them turning a strange shade of red. He could only imagine that his fingers looked awful. A concerned pang shot through him as he wondered if he would have to get them cut off due to lack of circulation. Technically, a voice in his head informed, the cuffs were not cutting off his digits' circulation, but were just digging metal pegs into his body, as far as he could tell. This somewhat eased his mind.

"Where yee' at, Rosy?" The bulky figure at the door boomed, and Natsu immediately growled in response. Spud's amused eyes landed on the fire mage, and the man swaggered over to him, carrying a bucket of what sounded and smelled like water. After another sniff, Natsu confirmed it as salt water. He tensed.

"How yee' enjoyin' the ride? Lemme tell yee'—you's was higher 'n heck last night, hoo-hah. Even ruin't mah new boots," The man scoffed and lifted his boot to show the mage the faded yellow substance on the toe of his boot.

Natsu blinked.

"What?" He sputtered, but shook his head; it was not important, "Let me out of here!" But his voice cracked from the lack of moisture in his throat and the lack of stability in his stomach.

Spud chuckled and smiled a toothless smile. "No can do, Rosy, I—"

"Natsu."

"What?"

"My name's Natsu Dragneel!" A few of the prisoner's heads snapped up at this. "I'm a wizard from Fairy Tail! You won't get away with this, you—!"

But he was cut off when Spud launched the substance in the bucket at the mage's face.

" _Arrrgh—_!" Natsu started to writhe in pain, his eyes widening and his teeth grinding together so hard he feared they might have cracked. The hundreds of little open wounds on his face and torso started to burn as the cold water seeped into them. After a moment, though, the pain subsided as quickly as it had come, and Natsu was left panting and glaring at the irritated man before him. His restraints had tightened even more and now blood was flowing freely from all four appendages. He started to shiver when a gust of cold winter air blew in from the open porthole of the ship. The water, which was now mixed with Natsu's blood and puke, had puddled around him and was flowing gently in whichever direction the ship chose to lean in. Tim and Paulo did their best to avoid the tainted water.

"Now, come on, _Rosy_ , don' go sayin' 'em words in fronna' the kiddos," Spud smirked. "Now, youse' gotta drain the tank, or not?"

Natsu almost retorted before staring blankly at the tan man.

He sighed irritably and held up the bucket he had just emptied. "Boy, you need to use the bucket, or not?"

' _Oh. So that's why there's not…stuff everywhere. Wait, is he going to hold that bucket near my—?!_ '

"No way! Get away from me, you freak!" Natsu spat incredulously. His nose was wrinkled, lifting his top lip and revealing his sharp canines. His voice was growing strained; the boat was swaying, again.

Spud glared and shrugged. "Fine, then go in fronna' all 'em." He started to walk away. "Was gonna take yee' and clean yee' up, maybe feed yee' somethin' nice. Take 'ose chains off yer arms."

Natsu was not falling for it. He heard the teasing in the man's voice.

"Yeah, right; like I'd accept anything from you!"

Spud stopped. He glanced at the boy in the dim lighting of the afternoon sun filtering through the open windows. He had to have seen the burning fire in Natsu's olive eyes; his pupils had to have been slits.

But his stomach was twisting, again.

"I don' 'ppreciate the back talkin', boy. Best not say another word."

"Yeah, well—" Natsu interrupted himself when his body tried to purge the contents of his stomach. Unfortunately, by now, there was nothing left in the mage's gut to get rid of, and he was left dry heaving. A line of drool flew from his mouth, and he let his head fall back against the wooden wall with a soft _thump_.

Spud scoffed and left the room.

Natsu's body was shaking from exertion and lack of energy. His magic—his flames—fed off of his emotions. His magic was being sapped from him by those cuffs. He needed to calm down. He needed to rest. Each breath was taxing. The stinging in his sores were growing unbearable—especially the ones on his face. The chill of the ocean water made his body give off little tremors. After a few moments, Natsu found himself drifting off.

"You're from Fairy Tail?"

Natsu slowly opened his eyes to see most of the room staring at him. Unable to pin-point the location of the small voice he had heard, the mage answered their question. In response, one of the children in the room on the wall opposite of Natsu seemed to light up.

"What kind of magic can you use?" The small blonde boy asked.

Natsu cleared his dry throat, "Dragon Slayer magic. I use fire." Though his voice lacked its usual enthusiasm, his eyes held pride in them. "My dad, Igneel, taught me. He's a dragon."

Some of the older children and adults scoffed and rolled their eyes at this.

"It's true," Natsu defended, though he sounded tired and was now leaning his head against the wall, again. Wow, these cuffs _sucked_.

"If you are from a guild, where's your guild mark?" A skeptical voice asked.

Natsu blinked heavily and gestured softly to his right shoulder with his head. "Right here."

"There's… nothing there, pal…" Tim, the man next to him, said after a moment.

Confused, Natsu turned his head the best that he could to see his guild mark, only to have his eyes widen in shock. Something cold dropped in his stomach. His right shoulder was completely covered in cuts and scrapes and bruises, just like the rest of his body. But this part of his body was special. This part of his body was supposed to show off his guild mark. These wounds were covering it up.

The fire mage felt his blood boil.

"It's there. Just can't see it right now," He ground out.

Some of the prisoners nodded their heads in understanding. Why were they even here? What reason could their sick captors have to abduct adults _and_ children? They were all in bad condition—their ribs were visible and so were the bruises and open wounds on their bodies. They had been taken from their homes—their families—and forced into a place they did not understand.

Natsu seemed to suddenly remember something.

"Does anyone know a man named Takao? I was looking for him back at that cave-place before I got caught," Natsu asked, his head lifting a little higher as he searched the room.

"Oh, I think I—"

"It was _you_?!" Natsu snapped his head in the direction of the angry voice. It was a young woman, a little older than Natsu and wearing nothing but the black hair on her head. Natsu tried not to stare. "You started that riot? You're the one who found out their base?"

"Well… yeah."

Suddenly, other people started to shout at the fire mage, all angry, and all yelling accusations. The few Natsu could make out were not pleasant.

"—wife was killed because of you!"

"—my son—"

"—Macy—"

"— _gone_ —"

"—my baby—"

"—my mommy—"

Natsu's heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened, and, suddenly, his foggy brain realized; he was on a boat with so many other people because _these were the same people that had been in the cells at the hideout_. The gunshots he had heard were of people who either would or could not leave.

Because Natsu had found the organization's hideout.

And charged in without thinking.

And caused all these losses to all these people.

Reality hit him like a brick wall.

"I-I—" He tried to say something— _anything_. What could he say to that?

Thankfully, someone did it for him.

" _Hey!_ " All mouths closed and all eyes turned to see Spud back at the doorway. "Ya'll oughtta hush or I's gon' tear yee' all a new 'en!" He strode in the room, his eyes briefly landing on Natsu's extremely pale face. "Rosy, you hungry, boy?"

Natsu, with his mouth partially open and shock glazing his eyes, could only nod minutely.

"Hmm," Spud nodded, and gestured to something beyond the doorway. Three wheelbarrows were pushed into the room, and spud reached in and pulled two objects from one of them. He knelt before Natsu and held one up for him to see.

It was a potato.

Natsu would have laughed at the irony had he not been so close to throwing up again. And not from the incessant swaying of the ship.

"It's a baked 'tater, Rosy," Spud said, "Eat up."

Instinctively, Natsu's arm twitched to reach for the source of energy. However, his restraints clicked and dug impossibly deeper into his flesh, causing him to flinch.

Spud rolled his eyes and put the potato up to Natsu's lips. How humiliating. Natsu stubbornly kept his mouth closed. The sounds of the other prisoners feeding themselves—rattling chains, loud chewing—as potatoes were passed around could be heard.

"Boy, you know I cain't unlock those cuffs 'till yee' start listenin'," Spud snapped, " _Eat the 'tater_."

After a few moments of silence spent staring at each other, Natsu was growing dangerously aware of his hungry stomach. He reluctantly opened his mouth and took half of the potato in one bite. He chewed quickly and purposefully on the tasteless nourishment before his drive for food won the battle over his pride. He finished both of the potatoes he was offered in record timing—he hoped that the blood and bruises on his face hid the heat in his cheeks.

Humiliating. He was reduced to eating out of this creep's hand. He was then offered a drink of water, which he quietly took.

"There," Spud grunted as he stood back up and stretched his back, "Cain't have yee' dyin' on me, Rosy."

And then the man left the room.

Natsu turned his head away from the direction of the door, leaning his head on one of his suspended arms, and went to sleep.

Some of the prisoners continued to mutter sour things about him, unable to raise their voices due to the cloaked people peeking into the room and threatening them silently with a whip or bat in their hands.

Natsu tried not to let it eat at him. He needed to rest.

He could deal with the guilt later.

* * *

 **Me:** Sooooo hey guys! Just wanna say, for all you peeps who _may_ get lost, lol, I just wanna refresh some minds: Energy to be used for magic is constantly taken in by a wizard who needs 'refueling' in magic energy. Soooo Natsu's trying to constantly get energy only for it to be sucked away the second its earned by those good ol' cuffs he's in. That's why he's sort of lethargic at the moment ^^;

This will be explained more thoroughly later on, but I just wanted to leave this here just in case there are some who didn't catch this. :)

Luv u, my peeps! Gudnight!


	9. Chapter 8

_Break Him_

Chapter 8

PrinceyAtNight28

* * *

Studded eyebrows rose when their owner's nose caught a scent he could never have forgotten even if he had tried. Rock, soil, blood and decay. He shifted in his seat at the bar; yeah—it was definitely there. He sat his mug of beer back on the table rather loudly, catching his team's attention.

Gajeel's head whipped around and he took in the sight of a scrawny man with short brown hair entering the bar he and his team were in; they had been taking a break from interrogating nearly the entire harbor and had just finished a meal. They had gathered little information that they did not already know. None of it was useful.

A glance over told him that Wendy had smelled it, too. Wooden boards creaked underneath his boots as Gajeel got up and stalked over to the man—he could not have been more than twenty. He wore a loose shirt and pants that smelled fresh, but his skin still stunk terribly. The man caught Gajeel's eye, took a glance at the mage's left shoulder, and blanched. The guy recognized his guild mark.

The scrawny figure promptly turned on his heel and practically ran out of the doors to the bar.

"Geheh." Gajeel gave a smirk fit for a shark and gave chase. Rapid footsteps behind him let him know that his team was following him. They ran outside, and polished wood gave way to stone streets and warm air turned to biting cold. The sky was orange from the setting sun; the team from Fairy Tail had been searching for clues for their lost friend since they woke up at noon after recovering from their previous all-nighter.

Now, though, the colossal iron dragon slayer was well-rested and in the mood for some serious head-bashing. Needless to say, he tackled the man to the ground well before he made it twelve feet from the tavern.

"Hey, there. Mind if we have a little chat?" He growled, and he stood up, yanking the petrified man to his feet.

"I-I-I-I—" The man sputtered, and his knees started to quake when Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Juvia and Levy surrounded them. When Erza emerged and sent a paralyzing glare at the man, he suddenly found his tongue going numb.

Lucy glanced around and noticed a few bystanders staring in curiosity. "Why don't we go somewhere more, um, private?" She suggested, her brown eyes shifting nervously.

Gajeel nodded, and hoisted the man up before slinging him over his shoulder in one swift movement. He held an iron grip onto the man's ankles, and Erza kept an eye on the man from the back, silently daring him to so much as blink in a threatening way. Gray led the other six mages, three Exceeds and prisoner into a dark alley that gave way to a dead end. Once everyone gathered near the end of the alley, Gray raised a wall of ice to block the path they had come and the man's chance of escape.

Gajeel roughly threw the shivering guy against the wall and slammed his iron foot into the man's chest. The man grunted and leaned heavily against the wall, grasping his chest and gasping for air.

"Your name," Erza commanded.

The man's dark eyes widened at the peril behind those words, and took a deep breath.

"R-Roy. Roy Earno." The man panted, and pressed himself impossibly farther against the brick wall.

"Okay, Roy," Erza spoke it as if it left a bad taste in her mouth, "My comrade, here, saw you as a suspicious character. I trust his judgement. Does he have a reason to mistrust you?"

Lucy blinked. Erza was playing with the man. The blonde looked to see the man swallow hard.

It was working.

"I-I—uh—I, um, I-I really don't—"

Gajeel's studded forearm morphed into a blunt iron club, and his crimson eyes gleamed in the darkening surroundings.

"I-I mean, uhm—I-I r-recognized his—your—guild m-marks a-and I-I just—y-your guild _is_ known for destroying-g t-towns—but I-I know it's usually an accident, but—"The man sputtered and his eyes shifted wildly in turn to all the seven wizards, and he licked his lips nervously. "L-listen, i-if this is about that pink-headed guy—"

Suddenly, all of their eyes grew extremely murderous and the man took a quick second to catch his breath so that he would not faint—even the little girl and the cats looked ready to kill him.

"O-Okay, so, it is," The man stuttered, and brought his trembling hands together to wring them nervously. "M-My boss, he's—I-I can't t-tell you anything. I—"

Gajeel's metal arm stretched rocketed forward and struck the man's kneecap, and he fell to the ground, crying out.

"Try again," Gajeel hissed, baring his canines and taking a step forward.

"Y-you… don't understand…" The man—the teenager—whimpered, clutching his knee and trying to blink his tears away. He sucked in air through his crooked teeth. "H-he has us—I-I can't—secret—I-I, uh—"

Erza stomped an enraged leather boot on the ground and the man jumped.

There was a radiant glow, a moment of nudity, and Erza was suddenly in an armor of pure white, adorned with angel wings made of blades, and dozens of swords surrounding her, pointing straight at the captive before her. Her red hair was flowing behind her from the sheer power of her aura, and her violet-brown eyes burned viciously.

Lucy found herself almost feeling sorry for the boy. Almost.

" _I-I-I uhm—but h-he'll kill me!_ " Roy screeched, his hands clawing wildly at the brick wall behind him in panic.

The swords shot forward but halted millimeters from the man's body in multiple places—the most threatening being the ones against his chest and throat.

" _Seven! Seven! They're going to Seven! They took boats and the prisoners and they're going to Seven! I-I think they said something about Malymia! Please! Please, that's all I know!"_

"Seven. That's the country north of here," Levy muttered, running a hand through her head of short but wavy blue hair.

The swords pressed lightly into his body. A cold streak of fear shot down Roy's spine.

"How many of you are there?" Erza's deadly voice asked. Her dark violet-brown eyes sparkled in cold, unrelenting persistence. She was going to milk him for all he had to offer.

"I-I think—uhm—uh—two, uh, three thousand; I-I don't—the exact number—"

"How many prisoners do you have?"

"I-I'm-m not sure—uh—m-m-m-maybe, um, a-a thousand? T-two? Th-three? I-I-I've never really, um, counted, but—"

"What is the name of your boss? Who's organizing this?"

"I-I don't know— _No, wait—I really don't!_ They n-never told us—b-because, well—" The man gestured vaguely to his current situation. "B-But Marrium, Lildo, Resquea, Greglin, Tay, and, uh, Spud—they're right under him, I-I think. There's-s a-a few others, b-but—their names—I-I don't—"

"Alright." Erza hissed, and she narrowed her eyes further. "So you know about our comrade—why was he taken? What are they planning to do with him?"

Roy paused, licked his lips, and answered weakly, "Th-they— _All_ I know i-is that wh-whatever they're doing—i-it's not—they can't, uhm—it's not legal here. I-I don't kn-know what it is, _I swear_. They kept him because he killed a lot of-f our, uhm, people, and, uh, found our hideout. Not to, uh, mention, the, uh—he was looking for someone we had, I th-think, but… So, w-we couldn't just let h-him go, but…" Roy's freckled face turned to Lucy. "Sh-she was there. She got away, a-and—that was, um, time to go."

Erza stared at the man for a long, hard moment.

"Why did I see my friend's blood everywhere in the place he was kept in?" Wendy suddenly asked, drawing Roy's attention to the blunette. The twelve-year-old's brown eyes were teary, but the fierceness in them struck Roy's soul.

"U-Uh," Roy glanced from Erza back to the girl. He shook his head, "He was, uh, T-Tagged and, uh…" He swallowed hard. "…Spud, uh, well… He—he sometimes, um…mistreats people…"

All ten figures stiffened.

"I-I-I-I, um, _do not_ think it's right—I, um—I heard th-that he n-never asked Spud to st-stop, though. I-I heard he screamed, but n-not in, um, fear. I think. Someone who w-was there said, uh, that he just grit his teeth and bore through it. Th-they put him in, uh, shackles that, uh, drained magic—disabled it, too. They were, um, scared of him, I think. But they mostly just, uh… hated him."

"But he is alive, right?" Juvia asked.

Roy shrugged.

"Th-that's all I know—I'm sorry—I-I—That's all I can t-tell you."

"What is the name of this group?"

"Bereave Life Unleash Eternity. B-L-U-E. BLUE."

' _Creepy, much?'_ Lucy thought.

Erza's swords disappeared and her armor was replaced by her usual outfit of much less extravagant armor. Now able to relax without cutting himself, Roy shifted and attempted to stand on his hurt leg.

"Why are you in this organization?"

"I-I… I, uh, owe them. They lent me some money, and, uh… interest rates, and… my mother died, and I couldn't—It's a mess. I'm s-stuck, now."

The ice mage, who was suddenly shirtless, waved his hand, and Gray's ice wall shattered, nearly scaring Roy to the point of screeching, again.

"Get outta here, kid," Gajeel growled. "Stay away from them. They left you here. They're done with you. Start making better choices in your life; get a job, join a guild, water some flowers— _somethin'_."

The seven mages parted and Roy realized that they were letting him go. His young eyes blinked.

"I—uh… I will. Thank you," Roy sputtered, and stumbled forward. He cautiously passed the wizards, not daring to make eye contact with them. Once he had cleared a few steps from them, he paused, and turned around. "I, um, I hope you get your friend back. I-I really do. Um… What… what was his name…?"

"Natsu," Lucy answered, "Natsu Dragneel."

The teenager nodded, and gave a small, sad smile.

"Give him my apologies, and… thank you, again. Travel safe."

And then he was gone.

* * *

It was evening. The sailors were tying their boats to the docks and turning in for the night. The air bit from the cold, but the wind was clean and crisp and showed no signs of turning in bad weather. It was a perfect night to be out on the water.

About an hour after interrogating the former member of BLUE, Erza, Levy, Lucy, Wendy and Carla were searching for a boat to use in order to sail to the country of Seven, while Gajeel, Gray, Juvia, Happy and Panther Lily went to buy supplies for the journey across the ocean. They had contacted Makarov through the communication lacrima, who had been informed of everything Roy had said. The old man discussed with Levy the time and money it would take to travel to Seven with seven mages and three Exceeds. The guild master, after comparing maps with Levy, estimated that it would take four days to sail north to Seven over the Whirlpool Sea.

Tracking Natsu from there would prove to be the next step; for now, they needed to catch up as much as they could to BLUE.

After talking to many boat owners, they came across a wooden, sailing, fishing boat that would easily be able to hold seven people and three cats. The middle-aged owner guffawed when Erza prompted about buying it, and even advised them of another boat that was for sale a mile down the harbor.

"Sir, this is an emergency; how much would you like for the fishing boat? Name your price," Erza said after the man failed to lead the stubborn girl away from his boat.

" _Ma'am_ , you realize that that boat is my job, yes? I can't just give it to you. How long did you say you needed it?" The sailor asked, tilting his chin up and scratching his scruffy neck.

"I cannot give you an estimate. At the most, perhaps, a year," Erza stated it as if she were discussing the weather.

"A year?" The man's eyes bulged, "What emergency takes a whole _year_?"

"Our friend was kidnapped," Wendy said, "We're tracking the people that took him. Please, sir—we're trying to save his life."

The sailor sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry—I can't just give you the boat. I gotta wife and kids. They gotta eat, you know?"

Erza glanced at the band of girls with her, looking for approval for the offer she was about to make. The team at once understood. It was for Natsu's sake. They would be willing sacrifice nearly anything. The scarlet-headed beauty received nods of approval. She smiled softly at their understanding, and turned back to the man.

"What if we were to buy your boat and give you enough to buy a bigger, better one?" Erza offered.

"Well, uh," The man blinked. He looked back at his life's work. It was obviously worn but it was in great shape. He took pride in it. Were they really this determined to have his boat? "If, uh, that's the case, young lady, why don't you just buy yourself one…?" He asked politely.

She shook her head. "The processing will take too long. We need to leave immediately. I'll ask again, sir, please; name your price."

The man nodded—they really _were_ in a hurry if they would not even take the time to just buy their own boat. He could swallow his pride for the sake of someone's _life_. His wife had even warned him that they had been low on funds, lately—maybe buying a better boat _would_ pay off in the long run.

Anything for his family.

"Alright, I'll do it. Who is this fellow you're trying to find, anyway?"

* * *

It took another hour before the team finally set sail from the harbor. No one knew how to sail a boat, in all reality; the sailor that had sold the team the boat was even more appalled at this, and had said that he would have been willing to tag along, if not for his family.

Such a good man.

Erza had given him most all of the money the team had on them; the man almost fainted at the amount, and even tried to give some of it back, but Erza had told him that all the money in the world could not have paid for his generosity. The man had shaken his head frantically and claimed that his sum was quite enough. In a compromise, the man had shown them a few tricks and given them a quick cram session of how to operate a boat.

Once away from the harbor, with everyone aboard the boat (the two dragon slayers immediately slumped over dramatically), Juvia was given the job to use the water around them to guide the boat while Levy used her map and compass to direct her.

However, it was utterly clear who was in charge of the boat when Erza excitedly reequipped herself into a sailor's outfit and announced herself as captain. She adjusted her blue skirt and captain's hat, and continued to organize the supplies the men had bought from the market.

"Gray, what is this?" Erza asked, holding up a brown jug the size of her head in one hand. Its contents sloshed around as she inspected it.

The ice mage glanced over from dividing up their food and rolled his silver-blue eyes. "It's some kind of sea-sickness medicine Gajeel bought. He took a swig before we got on the boat," He gestured to the iron dragon slayer hanging his head over the side of the boat. "You can see how well it works," He said flatly.

"Shut—urgh—up," Gajeel grunted, casting a glaring red eye in Gray's direction. Wendy moaned miserably next to him, to which Carla rubbed her back worriedly.

"At least the boat's a pretty good size," Lucy chirped, pulling her jacket (Mirajane had lent it to her) closer to her body—and it was true. The boat they had bought easily fit its ten passengers with room to move around comfortably without being on top of each other.

There were hums of agreement on the boat, before silence settled among them and a frigid breeze ruffled everyone's hair.

Erza turned her eyes to the stars. She closed her eyes—sent a prayer.

' _Just hold on, Natsu. We're coming for you._ '

The boat rocked sharply.

"Uup—augh!"

"Sorry, Gajeel! That was a particularly large wave!" Juvia apologized, her hands held out on either side of her as she steadied the water.

Gajeel wiped the remnants of his accident from his chin and briefly waved her off all without lifting himself from the side of the boat. Unfortunately, seeing another one's sickness had Wendy's nausea going over-edge. Quite literally.

"Wendy!" Carla cried.

Erza turned her eyes back to the stars.

' _Stay safe_.'

* * *

Day three.

His own scent was making him gag. His stomach gnawed painfully in hunger; it twisted violently in nausea. His olive eyes were glassy as he stared at something beyond the people opposite of his wall. His head lolled to the side. His neck ached, but he could not find it in himself to move. The cuts and bruises were showing excruciatingly slow signs of healing—every move seemed to prompt his sores to open up again. His shackles had finally been loosened to their default setting, as a Hood (As Natsu had decided to call them) had noticed the blood flowing from his wrists and ankles and had given him some sort of mercy. Spud had not been happy about it, but had let it slide. Eventually, he had stopped bleeding.

He had lost the battle to his bladder some time ago. His waste—both solid and liquid—moved around his naked body as the boat swayed. The prisoners next to him tried to give him as wide a space as they could. The chilly air of the room made the people shiver—a constant tinkling of chains rattling together was his lullaby and his alarm clock. The forty-six prisoners in the room—he had grown bored enough to count them—gave him stares ranging from anger to sympathy. He could not bring himself to meet any of their gazes for more than a moment. It's funny, what guilt can do to a person.

"Natsu," One of them called his attention, and he slowly turned his head to look at Paulo, who swallowed thickly upon meeting his hollow, sunken eyes. The dragon slayer's usually sharp, reptilian irises were very soft ovals. "Are you okay, _hombre_? You look _muy mal_."

The pink-headed mage tried to speak, but went into a coughing fit, instead. He felt rumblings in his chest as he finished. He hoped he was not getting sick.

' _Dragon slayers don't get sick,'_ something whispered in the back of his mind. Natsu was starting to think otherwise.

"I dunno wha' tha' means," He slurred past cracked lips. His tongue felt swollen and numb. Weird.

"You look very bad," Tim, the middle-aged man next to him translated. Tim was a quiet, calculated man—he only spoke when he needed to.

Natsu nodded—or, tried to; he ended up just moving his head a little—and sniffed through his nose, trying to ignore the terrible stench around him. "Yeah…" He managed. His stomached growled loudly; two potatoes had been given to him about three hours ago, but his body craved more.

Tim and Paulo shared a glance on either side of Natsu. Something was wrong. Tim's green eyes lit up in realization.

"I think they're drugging you, sir," He said with a shiver from the cold air, "Spud carried your potatoes in separate from the others'. He may have slipped something in them."

Natsu blinked a few times before tearing his tired gaze away from the man and looking at his shackled ankles. "Oh."

" _¿Por qué?_ "

"Well, since he is unable to move very much, I'd say they're either trying to just sedate him to make him less defiant, or they are going to move him," Tim informed, and brought his knees back up to his naked torso when he realized he was sitting in a somewhat revealing way.

Natsu tried to process this information before he found himself trying to remember what they had just been discussing.

He was so exhausted.

He had previously busied his mind with his friends—he missed them. He knew that they would be looking for him, but something was eating at his foggy mind. Natsu's last conscious memory before he had been caught at the hideout was of firing a powerful stream of fire at the strange-smelling person. Happy had moved Lucy out of the way in time to dodge the attack, but he had not been awake long enough to see if anyone had given chase to them. He was almost positive that they had made it out, but…

…What if they had not?

What if Lucy was in the room next to his? What if Happy was in a bird cage somewhere on the godforsaken boat? Natsu grit his teeth. No. They had escaped. Natsu could feel it in his chest. Plus, Natsu figured that Spud would have been arrogant enough to brag that he had gotten a hold of Lucy.

The thought alone sent rage stabbing at the dragon slayer's chest, which sent a jolt through his body as his magic flared and was ripped away from him in less than a second.

 _Click-ck_.

Fatigue flooded through his system.

' _Sleep. I'll just go to sleep,'_ He thought, even as his eyes started to droop. His head slowly fell forward again, and he found himself drifting off into a deep slumber.

* * *

 **Me:** Natsu, seriously, I think you have a drug problem :3 You can get help, it's okay. XD thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 9

_Break Him_

Chapter 9

PrinceyAtNight28

* * *

The next time Natsu woke up, he did not smell sea water. Yet, the world was still spinning and swaying and doing things that the _world should not be doing_. He groaned. His head hurt. He licked his lips but they stung painfully when he found that they were still chapped and cracked; they started to bleed. His stomach was churning painfully.

Creaking could be heard. Clicking. A rhythmic _clip-clop_ that only hooves could make. Natsu knew these sounds. The scent of foliage. Sweat. Blood. Himself. Others. Wood. Dirt. Winter. Natsu knew these smells.

He was on a form of transportation. A wagon.

His eyelids slowly slid open to reveal olive eyes with rounded off irises. Wood on all sides—above him, below him. It was dark, but his keen sight found that to be no problem. He was crammed between crates stacked to the ceiling of the carriage so that he could barely move left or right without bumping into them. He was lying down on his side, his face centimeters away from a wooden crate. His cheek rested on the rough timber floor. Cold seeped into his naked body. He shivered. The chains on his wrists and ankles tinkled as he shook. His body ached all over—

' _Wait a second_ ,' Natsu thought, and his irises grew sharp, again, as his eyes widened, and he carefully clenched and unclenched his fists. He immediately flinched—his wrists _hurt_ (and Natsu did _not_ use that word lightly). Yet, his restraints did not tighten. He rotated his ankles. They hurt, too, but his shackles… _They did not tighten_. His heart skipped a beat. Could he use his magic? It had been a while, and most of it had been depleted, but… ' _Aha!'_ There it was; the familiar singe of heat that flared in his belly. He inhaled deeply. His throat did not hurt anymore. Neither did his chest. The heat still in his ribcage, he exhaled, and saw steam drift in front of his face as he did so. ' _Heck yeah!_ '

However, his mental celebration was interrupted when his stomach gave a sickening lurch. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to take his mind off of the swaying of the wagon.

His magic. He needed to focus.

Natsu swallowed hard and tried his best to breathe evenly. He could feel the cold of winter crawling over him, and that was a bad sign; his magic allowed him to be resistant to most weather, but he could clearly feel the frigidness around him. His magic was not nearly replenished enough to prove useful.

But he was chained up naked in a wagon, led by strange people in a place that his nose could not place.

' _No, thanks!_ '

Natsu took a deep breath and, using his bloodied shoulder, pushed his body upwards. He managed to prop himself up on an elbow before the wagon swayed again, his stomach tossed, and his arm shuddered and gave out.

He _hated_ carriages.

Taking a few deep breaths, he tried again and was met with a sickening wave of dizziness as he sat up. Motion-sickness aside, he felt awful. However long he had been asleep had terribly disoriented him. It had been days since he had even stood. His body could barely sit still for two minutes, never mind a day pinned to the wall and two days _on a boat_. Preposterous. He was going to have a serious workout once he was out of the swaying death trap.

With what little space he had to work with, he managed to lean his back against some crates and his knees on those opposite of him before shimmying his way carefully upwards. He had almost been on his feet when the wagon lurched abruptly, and he tipped over, hitting his head hard on a crate and landing even harder on the floor.

Natsu took a moment to let the stars clear from his vision before he cursed loudly and made to sit up, again. Suddenly, the wagon stopped moving. A rock dropped into his stomach. The drivers of the carriage had heard him; his heart started hammering—he was in no condition to fight! He was chained, naked, and—

Blinking, he quickly shifted his hands and grabbed the chains linking his hands together, which sent pain singeing down his arms. He was not as skilled as Gajeel was at this, but—' _Oh. Never mind_ ,' he thought as the metal chains cracked underneath his strength, and then shattered behind him. Though the chain had been broken, thick metal rings were still solidly around his injured wrists, and the chains that had not been broken dragged and knocked on wood as he moved his hands. He quickly pulled his hands around to do the same to his ankles, but paused and inhaled sharply through his teeth as he caught sight of his hands for the first time since he'd been captured. His hands were—

' _Not the time_ ,' He shook his head, and broke the chains connecting his feet (with a hiss of pain) at the same time that light flooded into the wagon through the door in front of him.

Natsu heard a voice curse, and he stiffened. "I _told_ yee' I heard somethin'!"

He knew that voice. He _hated_ that voice.

At that moment, Natsu hit his _last resort_ button.

It was at times like these when Natsu's body took hold over his mind, for he knew how to fight without thinking. It was instinct. Unfortunately, when he stood to bolt forward to attack, he gasped in pain as his feet screamed in agony, and dizziness swamped him once more.

"'bout time yee' woke up, Rosy."

The wagon bounced when the voice's owner stepped into the wooden box of a carriage. Natsu stumbled backwards, tripped, and fell. He had not even heard him speak.

His _feet_.

"Ack!" He hissed, and leaned his back heavily against the crates. His ankles were screaming in pain—blood was trickling from underneath the metal cuffs he still wore around them. Something in Natsu's mind said that he did not have a chance of getting past the man; he could not touch him without being paid back tenfold. But then, Natsu's mind raced back to the giant room of the stone tunnels. When he had erupted into flames near Spud, before the man used defense magic, Natsu had not felt a retaliation of magic afterwards—at least, not from his onslaught of fire. His body had still been in pain from the torrent of physical attacks he had launched at Spud, but it had never gotten worse—his body had just grown numb…

…Were physical attacks the limit of the man's drain magic?

' _Only one way to find out.'_

He was yanked from his thoughts when the voice whistled, "Yer paws look awful, boy. Yee' shouldn't be walkin' on 'em." Natsu looked up with a grimace to see a large figure looming over him. Fear seeped through his haze of pain. The air inside the wagon was suddenly warm. Steam rose from Natsu's body.

No, that was not fear in the mage's eyes.

It was _anger_.

Spud's face, however, morphed into horror one second too late.

Instinct kicked in for both of the wizards. Spud scrambled backwards; Natsu was happy to help him leave.

" _Get…_ _ **awaaaay**_!" Natsu boomed, and his words were followed by a torrent of fire so wide and so hot that the crates _behind_ Natsu started to heat up to a near-flame. The top to the wagon flew off, and the walls and crates in front of him and beside him were careened, indeed, _away_ from the dragon slayer in splinters and cinders.

To put it simply, the cart would have been better off spontaneously combusting.

Wild snorts and whines bellowed out as the two giant purple boars pulling the cart galloped away, the two wooden shafts connecting them to the wagon burned and splintered into fragments. Shouts rang out as the giant pigs barreled away, running into foliage and scrambling over the mud and snow, connected by the remains of their restraints but still trying to escape the hell that had erupted out from behind them.

Once Natsu had finished, he sat for a moment, panting hard. His irises were mere slits, and his eyes were wide. He had been right! He was not in pain! He took a deep breath—his body was shaking from exertion. He blinked and found black edging into his vision. He cursed, more softly this time.

He had used up too much energy.

He could not faint now. He had to get up—now was his chance; he could _escape_. Natsu hauled himself to his feet, ignoring the pain pounding through his body, and took in his surroundings briefly. He was in the absolute middle of the woods, standing on a cart surrounded by manymore carts, which had all stopped after the carriage he was in had very well exploded. The boars that stood well over six feet tall were shifting and stomping the ground anxiously after the scene that had taken place. The drivers were staring at him, mouths agape and eyes wide open. It was daytime—it was noon. A light dusting of snow covered everything around him. Except, of course, the snow on the ground near his wagon, which had melted.

Natsu looked down to see Spud and another figure groaning in a sizzling, smoking heap. The one he could not name was the one that had a weird voice and smell—the one who had landed the first blow on him back at the Hoods' hideout. Other voices started to call out to them. They would be coming after him. Natsu inhaled deeply through his nose. He did not recognize anything, so he chose the most logical choice that came to his mind:

Pick a direction and _run_.

They had been traveling northeast. On a whim, Natsu chose to go south.

He jumped off of the cart, and suddenly regretted it. His feet ignited in pain, so much so that he cried out and stumbled, paused, and took a deep breath before he took off at a sprint. Well, more like a limping jog, but it was _something_. His legs ached from the span of time they had gone without being used. The chains still connected to the cuffs on his wrists and ankles flailed wildly as he pumped his body—one even whapped him right in the face—but he had not even noticed. He had to _go_.

He made it about six steps from the destroyed cart before calls rang out.

" _Runner!_ " different voices cried.

Natsu ignored them, drove his legs as hard as he could, and grit his teeth through his pain. He swerved around a tree, twisting his body hard in order to avoid it, hearing a solid _thock_ as a chain on his wrist hit it.

Most of his wounds tore right open, again.

Blood dribbled from his naked body and left a trail behind him—he cursed, again, as he realized they would be able to follow him. Through his pain, he tried to focus on running, but from his starvation, dehydration and terribly low energy levels, his mind was beginning to grow fuzzy. The edges of his vision were growing hazy and black, again.

' _Just run,'_ a voice in his head said, and run Natsu did.

He had covered about fifty feet through the frozen forest before he abruptly erupted into pure, hot, white agony. He screwed his eyes shut and threw his face towards the sky, yelling. He tripped over something in the forest and landed hard on his face below a pine tree.

His skin was tearing. His eyes were burning. His bones were _breaking_. His hair was being ripped out. His stomach lurched and was pierced by a blade all at once, and he gagged as the nothingness in his insides tried to come up. He was being frozen and burned at the same time. Veins and muscles bulged from the strain on his body, and his hands clawed wildly for the ground in agony.

After a few seconds—they might as well have been _years_ —Natsu vaguely realized that he was hollering in strangled cries.

His body was tearing itself apart.

He briefly was reminded of Ultear using the Arc of Time to forcibly tap into his Second Origin, before all thoughts were ignited in pure anguish.

His head was pounding—no, _exploding_. His stomach was cleaving open. His heart was stopping. His feet and hands were shattering. His backside was being peeled off of him. And then, his body detonated as if a bomb had gone off inside of him. There was nothing but agony. There was nothing but _pain_.

And then it was gone.

Natsu audibly gasped for the air that he realized he had not had access to moments prior. He found himself on his knees, which he immediately fell from, and landed hard on his side. His body shook—no, _trembled_. He felt wet—all of his cuts had been opened and sweat was coating him. He vaguely noted that the wetness on his face may have included fluid from his eyes as well as his blood. He did not care. It was over. The pain was gone.

Until something slammed into his back, and he cried out in surprise and pain.

He was rolled onto his stomach, and a hard, leather object stomped on his head and stayed there. Natsu groaned as the side of his face was forced into pine needles, dirt and snow.

" _Boy_ —" A voice boomed in rage, "— _I 'ought'ta tear yee' apart_!"

Spud. They had caught him.

The boot was gone, and Natsu opened his eyes for the first time since his first wave of pain. They were bloodshot, and, yes, tears _were_ slipping from them. But he had not willed them. No, they were simply tears of pain—not defeat.

He was hauled to his feet by several pairs of hands, and his grimy hair was yanked backwards, forcing his face to meet that of a southern man's. Natsu did not say anything, and his knees trembled from exhaustion. Had Spud's lackeys not been holding him upright, Natsu would have collapsed all over again.

But Natsu's bleeding mouth turned into a weak, lopsided smirk.

Spud's face was black and was sizzling around his eye as red glowed starkly in patches on his face and neck. Natsu had burned the man when he had blown him away from the cart.

Spud caught the pink-now-dull-pale-purple haired teenager's smile, and promptly raised a hand.

Black edged into Natsu's vision again, and all of his muscles strained at once as a kind of fire he was not used to coursed throughout his body. His back arched and his chest puffed outwards, his arms involuntarily yanking forward and pulling the five or six people holding him with them.

Seeing this, Spud released his magic, and the black faded away from Natsu's vision. Instead, the man took the large hand that had been casting his spell, and grabbed Natsu's face, turning his head so that their gazes met.

The dragon-slayer stared into Spud's brown eyes, and Spud almost hit the boy in frustration.

Natsu's body was completely limp and trembled violently from his exertion, while his chest heaved and shuddered for air. Blood nearly coated the boy, and his large, dark bruises seemed to have grown a shade blacker. But his eyes…

…His eyes were chips of pure green fire, burning with a determination and fierceness that Spud could clearly see from behind the boy's marred face.

Spud snarled something akin to an animal backed into a corner, and he released his hold on Natsu's face and stepped away.

"Get them weight ball thingies and tie 'em suckers on 'im. He's walkin' the rest of the day," Spud smiled wickedly. "If he wants'ta walk so bad, he won't stop 'till the cows come on home."

Natsu tugged weakly at the arms that dragged him forward. He could not go back. He had almost gotten away—he had been so _close_. He tried digging his heels into the cold ground but his ankles screamed in protest and his knees buckled. He was roughly slapped across the face (which hurt more than it should have, considering the many wounds decorating the dragon slayer's mug), and was lugged back to his feet, pulled forward by hands that squeezed too hard and pulled too crudely.

"St-stop," He croaked, but his voice was nothing more than a high-pitched rasp, and he doubted anyone had even heard him. Natsu's eyebrows furrowed furthermore as he protested again, stronger this time, which earned him a punch to the gut that had his bruises screaming and his lungs gasping for air. He wheezed and was straightened up, and then practically dragged back in the direction opposite that of which he had ran.

Natsu was brought back to the haphazard line of carts he had so desperately darted from, and he gritted his teeth and screwed his eyes shut. He could not even stand on his own. He had missed his chance to escape. Who knew when he would get another one? He cursed softly and looked up to the afternoon sun as he was shoved forward.

' _Sorry, guys,_ ' He thought, knowing his friends could not hear him but trying, anyways (maybe Warren was listening in), ' _But I'll definitely get back to you. Soon._ '

An hour later found Natsu with new shackles on his wrists and ankles. He had been given the past hour to rest and even got a drink of water from a canister (only because someone had argued with Spud that he would die if he did not get fluids soon), before he had been forced to his feet once again as soon as he could stand. His hands were chained in front of him, while his right ankle was chained to a single ball of solid metal. It was heavy enough and he was tired enough that his right leg was dragging behind him as he pulled it forward. The chains (they were thicker, this time, and there were two links instead of one as a precaution) on his wrists were connected to the cart in front of him so that he was pulled onward if he started lagging, which threw him off-balance multiple times. If that happened, a certain sadist would use his magic to send Natsu's body into a brief fit of pain—and drain away his magic.

Apparently, that was how they had caught him. Spud had a 'Tag' on Natsu (whatever that meant), so he could throw Natsu into a fit of pain from a distance—even track him for miles, as Spud had bragged. The pink-haired mage supposed that this was what had happened back in the hideout, when Natsu had still had his clothes and Spud had sent him into a torrent of pain without them even touching one another. Spud had a type of magic other than his drain magic—he had something more deadly. But what was it?

Behind him, Spud and the weird smelling man watched him from where they drove a different cart than the one he had burned up. Its remains were still an hour southwest of where they currently were.

Speaking of carts, there were dozens of them with either people chained to them just as Natsu was (minus the ball and chain) or inside the carts themselves as he had been earlier. None of them were daring to speak, from what Natsu's oversensitive ears could tell. They simply marched on in silence, their feet crunching in the currently-falling snow or squelching in the slush of mud and snow that was created by the line of hooves, wheels and feet ahead of them.

A frigid gust of wind rushed out of nowhere, ruffling Natsu's filthy hair and causing the nineteen-year-old's naked body to shiver. He was eventually numbed to both the feeling and pain in his feet, and the metal cuffs on his wrists were starting to freeze the blood on them and cause them to cling to his skin. Every breath came with a plume of frost, and his muscles strained with every step forward he took. Yet, the line of carts marched on.

Five hours in, Natsu collapsed.

At Spud's order, the carts stopped, and the burly man stomped up to the mage.

"Git up, boy," The man snarled, and grabbed a fistful of Natsu's hair, pulling his face towards the sky. Natsu was panting, his body shaking and his eyes half-lidded in exhaustion. He did not reply. "Boy, I _said_ —"

"Spud," a voice interrupted, and the man dropped Natsu's head as if he had been burned. The mage simply gave a deep inhale and tried to ignore the ache in his body. His mind drifted in and out of consciousness. Somehow, Natsu found that his eyes had closed. His body was being shaken, but he found that he could not move. Numbness crawled through his body.

The dragon slayer sighed.

And then everything faded to nothing.

* * *

 **Me:** Heyyyyyy I'm not dead! Sorry guys, I've sort of been in another country for the summer ^^; I meant to post before I left, buuut it didn't happen XD I am so sorry! Updates will hopefully pick up a little speed from here. Thank you for waiting on me, guys! Review if you want, I don't really care, lol (but, really, who DOESN'T like reviews?). Peace out and Pizza, guys :)


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